PRIME MINISTER

Former Ministers: Business Interests

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Prime Minister whether the appointment of the hon. Member for Wealden as (a) a consultant to Vitol Group and (b) a senior adviser to Atlantic Supergrid Corporation Ltd were considered by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments; and whether any conditions were imposed by the Advisory Committee on either such appointment.

David Cameron: In accordance with the requirements set out in the Ministerial Code, the independent Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACoBA) provides advice direct to former Ministers about any appointments or employment they wish to take up within two years of leaving office. Details about the ACoBA's advice is published on its website when appointments are taken up or announced.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Affordable Housing: Disability

Gerry Sutcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  whether he has any plans to amend the operation or rules of the home ownership for people with long-term disabilities scheme to make it more responsive to the delays and logistical challenges of selling property as part of the scheme for the purposes of ensuring those who access the scheme as owner-occupiers in housing need are not disadvantaged;
	(2)  what proportion of people who have sought to access the home ownership for people with long-term disabilities scheme as owner-occupiers in housing need, have been unable to complete the process of moving to a new property due to the delays and logistical challenges of selling their property as part of accessing the scheme since the inception of the scheme;
	(3)  what proportion of people who have been provided with assistance through the home ownership for people with long-term disabilities scheme have been owner-occupiers in housing need rather than first-time buyers to date.

Kris Hopkins: This Government are committed to promoting choice and providing housing opportunities for people with long-term disabilities, enabling them to live independent lives. We have no immediate plans to amend the operation or rules around the home ownership for people with long-term disabilities scheme.
	As with all home purchases, choice and speed of completion may be impacted by the number of providers and the availability of suitable properties in a particular area.
	We do not retain information concerning unsuccessful applications for the home ownership for people with long-term disabilities scheme. However, between 2007-08 and 2012-13, 160 sales by private registered providers were recorded under the scheme. Of these, 150 purchasers were first-time buyers. We do not hold information on sales by local authorities.
	The Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme gives people the opportunity to a new build property with just a 5% deposit. In Budget 2014, the Chancellor announced the extension of the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme to 2020, investing a further £6 billion to help 120,000 more households to purchase a home.

Census

Simon Danczuk: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what monitoring mechanisms his Department uses to inform policy making and priority setting to reduce inequalities for ethnic communities not recognised on the national census.

Stephen Williams: The Department for Communities and Local Government considers equality issues in exercising its functions, including in setting priorities within its budget, in order to comply with equality legislation and to ensure it understands how its activities will affect specific groups in society. It takes a proportionate approach to assessing equality which is properly considered from the outset with a simple audit trail.
	The Government are clear that producing formal equality impact assessment documents is not required in order to ensure compliance with the legal responsibility to consider equality impacts.
	In February 2012, DCLG published “Creating the conditions for integration” setting out our approach to achieving a more integrated society. Together with the Equality Strategy and the Social Mobility Strategy this is a three-part approach to tackling disadvantage and inequality across all communities.

Council Tax Reduction Schemes: Greater Manchester

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people in (a) Denton and Reddish constituency, (b) Tameside Metropolitan Borough and (c) Stockport Metropolitan Borough are (i) entitled to and (ii) receiving council tax relief.

Brandon Lewis: The Department has published experimental statistics which show the number of claimants receiving council tax support in 2013-14. These statistics are produced using information provided by local authorities on the Revenue Budget returns. No figures are available for parliamentary constituencies.
	
		
			 Local authority Number of pensioners in receipt of council tax support Number of working age claimants in receipt of council tax support Total number of claimants in receipt of council tax support 
			 Stockport 11,431 12,986 24,417 
			 Tameside1 — — — 
			 1 Tameside did not complete this section of their return so no figures are available for this area. 
		
	
	These statistics are also available on the Department's website via the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/257016/RA_2013-14_LCTS_Publication.xls
	Spending on council tax benefit doubled under the last Government, costing taxpayers. £4 billion a year—equivalent to almost £180 a year per household. Welfare reform is vital to tackle the budget deficit left by the last Administration. Our reforms to localise council tax support now give councils stronger incentives to support local firms, cut fraud, promote local enterprise and get people into work. We are ending the last Administration's “something for nothing” culture and making work pay.

Green Belt: Yorkshire and the Humber

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of planning applications to build on sites in (a) Yorkshire and Humber and (b) Brigg and Goole constituency involved building on designated green belt land in the last period for which figures are available.

Nicholas Boles: Information on the proportion of planning applications which involved building on land in the green belt is not centrally available.

Housing: Construction

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many houses have been started in each English local authority area since March 2010; and what proportion of existing housing stock these represented.

Kris Hopkins: My Department publishes historic figures for house building starts by district, at Live Tables 253 and 253a, which can be found at:
	www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-house-building
	Historic dwelling stock estimates, by district, can be found at Live Table 125:
	www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/live-tables-on-dwelling-stock-including-vacants
	The underlying information is thus reasonably accessible for any further analysis that the hon. Member may wish to undertake.

Landlords

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will introduce a national register of landlords; and what steps his Department is taking to make it easier for local authorities to introduce a licensing scheme for landlords.

Kris Hopkins: The overwhelming majority of landlords provide a good service and the Government do not want to impose unnecessary additional costs on them. We have no plans to introduce a national register which would be a financial burden on all landlords estimated at £40 million per year. Those costs would be passed on to tenants through higher rents. Local authorities can already introduce a licensing scheme where an area is suffering from antisocial behaviour and/or low housing demand. We recently published a discussion paper, “Review of Property Conditions in the Private Rented Sector”, which invited views on ways in which licensing can be made more effective and proportionate.

Local Government Finance: Greater Manchester

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much and what proportion of (a) council tax and (b) business rates was uncollected by each of the metropolitan districts in the county of Greater Manchester in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: Information on collection rates of council tax and business rates for the financial years 2008-09 to 2012-13 for each local authority in England has been published on the DCLG website at the following locations:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/council-tax-statistics
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121108165934/http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/collectionrates200809
	The figures show the amounts of tax collected within each year related to that year's liability, as a proportion of the net collectable debit for that year (for example, the proportion of the 2012-13 collectable debit actually collected during 2012-13). Collection of tax continues after the end of the year, so the eventual collection rates will be higher than those shown.
	In our best practice document, “50 ways to save”, we listed improving council tax collection rates and reducing arrears as a key way of making sensible savings to help keep overall council tax bills down and protect frontline services. Every penny of council tax that is not collected means a higher council tax for the law-abiding citizen who does pay on time.
	It is important that councils are sympathetic to those in genuine hardship, are proportionate in enforcement and do not overuse bailiffs. However, these figures show that there is a significant source of income for councils, which councils across the country could use to support frontline service or freeze council tax bills.

Local Government: Disclosure of Information

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will take steps to ensure that the minutes of the board meetings of (a) external organisations, (b) trusts and (c) other arm's length companies operating public services on behalf of local authorities are made available for public scrutiny.

Brandon Lewis: The Government have no plans to require all companies who do business with local authorities to publish minutes of their board meetings.
	However, we encourage all councils to be transparent about the services provided for them by the private sector. Through our revised transparency code for local authorities to be published shortly, we plan to increase transparency about the receipt of public money by private companies, by requiring local authorities to publish all spending over £500 and all contracts over £5,000.
	We also plan to consult on increasing financial transparency for companies and other entities which an authority owns or has a significant influence over.
	The Government also intend to issue a revised Code of Practice for all public authorities (under section 45 of the Freedom of Information Act) to promote openness about contracted out public services, including through the use and enforcement of contractual transparency provisions.

Local Government: Publicity

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when all publications and literature, including press releases and statements made by officials on behalf of his Department will be politically impartial in accordance with the principles and requirements of the Code of Recommended Practice on Local Authority Publicity.

Brandon Lewis: Departmental publications and press releases on www.gov.uk already follow the comparable guidance for central Government, including (i) the Cabinet Office's Propriety Guidance which covers political activity and paid publicity and (ii) the prevailing purdah guidance issued by the Cabinet Secretary on publicity during election and referendum periods.
	The Cabinet Office has also published specific guidance to non-departmental public bodies prohibiting the hiring of lobbyists to lobby Government, and which addresses inappropriate attendance at party conferences and advertising.

Mayors: Greater Manchester

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what his policy is on the introduction of an elected mayor for the Greater Manchester combined authority.

Brandon Lewis: In our White Paper response to Lord Heseltine's report on promoting economic growth, we stated that we would seek legislation for mayors of conurbations, such as Greater Manchester, where the councils concerned wanted this; no councils have asked for this.

Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre has billed the Government for use of the centre and associated facilities in the last financial year.

Brandon Lewis: In 2012-13, the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre charged public sector clients (including central Government, the NHS and local government) a total of £540,562, excluding VAT, for room hire and conference facilities. Such usage reflects the limited availability of high quality venues in Westminster which can take conferences or gatherings with a large number of attendees, and significant clients include the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Parliamentary Estates Directorate.
	Such public sector spending has fallen in recent years, due to stricter spending controls in central Government. For example, the comparative figures for the last Administration were £1.8 million in 2007-08, £1.7 million in 2008-09 and £1.7 million in 2009-10. In 2012-13, Government bookings accounted for just 5% of its revenue.
	I would note that the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre is a trading fund. Part of the trading fund surplus is returned to the Exchequer, and it contributed £2.3 million to the Exchequer in 2012-13.

Road Signs and Markings

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department issues to local authorities on the use of apostrophes on street signs.

Brandon Lewis: Recent press reports have highlighted there is a misconception in some parts of local government that there is a requirement to remove apostrophes from street names and street signs. This is not the case; I can confirm that there is no Whitehall rule or Brussels diktat demanding the abolition of the English apostrophe.
	I understand this may stem from a misunderstanding of guidance issued by the Geoplace National Land and Property Gazetteer which is overseen by local government. However, Geoplace has confirmed that it does not require councils to remove apostrophes either—councils can continue to use apostrophes and punctuation if they are used in the official street name.
	In turn, street names may not be changed unilaterally. Acts of Parliament have required the consent of local people before a street name can be changed. For example, extant legislation in the form of section 21 of the Public Health Acts Amendment Act 1907 states that councils cannot change a formal street name without the consent of two-thirds of the street's ratepayers.
	One of the spurious reasons for abolishing apostrophes has been the suggestion that they may cause confusion for emergency services' IT systems. If mankind can put a man on the moon, split the atom and decode the double helix, then I am sure it is not beyond the reach of 21st century technology to have a sat-nav which can understand an apostrophe.
	While street naming is ultimately a matter for local councils, Ministers' view is that both England's apostrophes and grammar should be cherished. If an apostrophe is good enough for Her Majesty's Government, so should it be for local councils.
	While we would not go as far as endorsing the “grammar guerrillas” who recently re-inserted the missing punctuation on Cambridge city council's dumbed-down street signs (defacing a street sign is an offence under the 1907 Act), we would encourage residents to defend their traditional place names from over-zealous municipal pen pushers. I hope the guidance in this answer assists the worthy cause of common sense.

Smoke Alarms

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the average cost to the owner of a domestic dwelling of damage caused by fire in a property that (a) has and (b) does not have a smoke alarm;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the average cost to (a) the fire and rescue service, (b) the ambulance service and (c) the police service of responding to a fire incident in a domestic dwelling (i) with and (ii) without a smoke alarm.

Brandon Lewis: The Department does not hold this information.

ELECTORAL COMMISSION COMMITTEE

Electoral Register: Lancashire

Graham Jones: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what the electoral registration figures were in each ward in the recent confirmation dry run conducted in (a) Lancashire county council and (b) Hyndburn constituency.

Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match.
	It is not possible to provide results for the divisions used by Lancashire county council area as the matching was carried out using the district councils' electoral wards. However, the table for all the wards within the district authorities in the Lancashire county council area and the table for Hyndburn constituency have been deposited in the House of Commons' Library.
	Results for all wards are available on the Commission's website here:
	http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls

WORK AND PENSIONS

Children: Maintenance

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 13 March 2014, Official Report, column 316W, on children: maintenance, in how many cases within the Child Support Agency collection service, excluding those with a deduction from earnings order, the agency was notified of a missed child maintenance payment in the quarter up to and including December 2013; and in what proportion of such cases the non-resident parent was contacted by the agency within 72 hours.

Steve Webb: There are currently three statutory maintenance schemes. The 1993 and 2003 schemes are delivered by the Child Support Agency and the 2012 scheme is delivered by the Child Maintenance Service.
	In all schemes, our aim is to act within 72 hours of when we are notified of a missed payment where there is a current liability. The notification trigger comes after a five-day tolerance period of a missed payment. This tolerance period is to allow for issues which may have caused the missed payment to be resolved (ie clearances through bank accounts) without the need for our intervention. While this trigger is built into the design for the 2012 system, there is no comparable automated process for the 1993 and 2003 systems.
	As such, information on (a) the number of notifications of a missed child maintenance payment in cases within the Child Support Agency collection service and (b) the proportion of such cases where the non-resident parent was contacted by the Agency within 72 hours is not available as it is not routinely recorded for management information purposes. To provide this information would require the creation of new information which could be completed and appropriately assured only at a disproportionate cost.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was paid in jobseeker's allowance to recipients in (a) Scotland and (b) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency in the last 12 months.

Esther McVey: The amount paid in jobseeker's allowance in 2012-13 can be found in the following table.
	
		
			 2012-13 JSA (£ million) 
			 Scotland 478 
			 Kilmarnock and Loudoun 12 
			 Note: Expenditure is shown for the last complete financial year. The benefit expenditure for jobseeker's allowance can be found in the parliamentary constituency tables as per link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/266825/pc-tables-201213.xls Source: DWP statistical data

Social Rented Housing: Disability

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was paid in service charges to housing associations for adaptations to accommodation for disabled tenants in the last year for which figures are available.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available. Information about service charges paid by all tenants is not collected.
	Eligible service charges for housing benefit would not include the cost of making an adaptation.

Social Security Benefits: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was paid in disability living allowance and personal independence payments to recipients in (a) Scotland and (b) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency in the last 12 months.

Michael Penning: The amount paid in disability living allowance in 2012-13 can be found in the following table.
	As personal independence payment was only introduced in April 2013 there was no expenditure in 2012-13.
	
		
			 Disability living allowance 2012-13 
			  £ million 
			 Scotland 1,450 
			 Kilmarnock and Loudoun 29 
			 Note: Expenditure is shown for the last complete financial year. The benefit expenditure for disability living allowance can be found in the parliamentary constituency tables as per link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/266825/pc-tables-201213.xls Source: DWP statistical data.

Statutory Sick Pay

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect on the ability of older and disabled workers to find work as a result of the abolition of the percentage threshold scheme for recovering statutory sick pay.

Michael Penning: The statutory sick pay percentage threshold scheme is not linked to finding work, rather it compensates employers with high levels of sickness absence. An independent review of sickness absence1 found that this scheme does nothing to tackle the causes of absence. As a result, the Government accepted a recommendation in the review to abolish the percentage threshold scheme. The Government also accepted a recommendation to establish a service (now known as the Health and Work Service) to offer specialist occupational health assessment and advice to employers, employees and GPs. The service is designed to reduce the costs of sickness absence for employers by addressing the issues preventing a return to work, and supporting employees back to work as quickly as appropriate.
	We consider that the creation of the Health and Work Service, funded by the abolition of the percentage threshold scheme, will enable sickness absence to be better managed and improve the employment prospects of all employees, including older and disabled workers.
	1 Black, C. and Frost, D (2011) Health at work-and independent review of sickness absence.

Statutory Sick Pay

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect on the ability of small businesses to manage sickness absence of abolishing the percentage threshold scheme for recovering statutory sick pay.

Michael Penning: The SSP percentage threshold scheme compensates employers with high levels of sickness absence but an independent review of sickness absence1 found it does nothing to tackle the causes of absence. As a result, the Government accepted a recommendation in the review to abolish the percentage threshold scheme. The Government also accepted a recommendation to establish a service (now known as the Health and Work Service) to offer specialist occupational health assessment and advice to employers, employees and GPs. The service is designed to reduce the costs of sickness absence for employers by addressing the obstacles preventing a return to work, and supporting employees back to work as quickly as appropriate. It will be funded from the savings made from the abolition of the PTS and will provide a more proactive way to manage sickness absence.
	Small businesses are least likely to have access to occupational health services, and will benefit from having access to occupational health assessments and advice through the HWS.
	1 Black, C. and Frost, D (2011) “Health at work—and independent review of sickness absence”.

Statutory Sick Pay

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his policy is on alternative models of compensating small businesses for sickness absence after the abolition of the percentage threshold scheme for recovering statutory sick pay.

Michael Penning: The Government believe that reinvesting savings from the abolition of the percentage threshold scheme to establish the Health and Work Service is the most effective means of targeting public funds to tackle sickness absence. The Health and Work Service will reduce the length of sickness absence and offers a more proactive approach to sickness absence management. Small businesses are least likely to have access to occupational health services, and will benefit from having access to occupational health assessments and advice through the Health and Work Service.
	We have considered an alternative approach along the lines of restricting access to a reimbursement scheme to employers with fewer than five employees. However, this was discounted because it resulted in additional burdens on employers and additional statutory sick pay reimbursement costs for the state.

Statutory Sick Pay

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the additional cost to small businesses of abolishing the percentage threshold scheme for recovering statutory sick pay.

Michael Penning: The Department for Work and Pensions has published an impact assessment outlining the abolition of the percentage threshold scheme (PTS) and introduction of the new provision of health assessments and occupational health advice available at the following link:
	http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2014/9780111108468/impacts

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Support: Hon. Members

Barry Sheerman: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, what steps he is taking to improve the support available to hon. Members.

John Thurso: The fundamental aims of the Commission are not only to ensure that the House is valued and effective in holding the Government to account and scrutinising legislation, but that individual Members have the information, advice, support and technology they need to be effective in their work and to engage closely with their constituents.
	We are coming to the end of a programme of savings, during which the governing principle has been that any cost reductions should not adversely affect the ability of the House and its Members to carry out their parliamentary functions. Indeed many of the changes have been a spur to innovation in the support available to Members. Now that we are on track to achieve the savings target, we have the opportunity to re-appraise the provision of resources and ensure, for example in the area of Select Committees, that we are providing the right level of support.

Security

Philip Hollobone: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, how many passes for entry into the Commons estate (a) are in issue and (b) were lost in 2013.

John Thurso: On 18 March there were some 14,700 Palace of Westminster passes in issue. During 2013, 523 passes were reported lost or stolen.
	When a pass is reported lost or stolen it is deactivated immediately.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Burma

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on an independent investigation into human rights abuses in Burma. [R]

Hugo Swire: It is the Government's position that allegations of human rights abuses must be dealt with immediately through a credible, independent and transparent investigative and prosecutorial process that meets international standards. We have made our views clear to the Burmese Government and will continue to do so.

Burma

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Burmese counterpart on ensuring that the upcoming census will not further endanger the Rohingya communities and any other minority groups in Burma. [R]

Hugo Swire: During my visit to Burma, 28-30 January 2014, I raised the British Government's deep concerns about the situation in Rakhine State and discussed the census and its associated risks with Minister in the President's Office U Soe Thane. I also discussed the census with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
	The Burmese Minister for National Planning, U Kan Zaw, visited London 10-13 March: in separate meetings the Minister of State, Department for International Development, my right hon. Friend the Member for Rutland and Melton (Mr Duncan) and my noble Friend, the Senior Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the right hon. Baroness Warsi, reiterated the importance of pursuing urgent action in Rakhine State to protect the human rights of the Rohingya community.
	The UK is a lead donor to the census; we have been working with other donors, the Burmese Government and the UN to manage and mitigate the risks, to ensure as peaceful, credible and complete a process as possible. In January, our ambassador discussed the census with ethnic armed group leaders in Chiang Mai. The Head of DFID Burma accompanied the Burmese Minister for Immigration and Population on a visit to Rakhine State in February to discuss the census with the Rohingya and Rakhine communities. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office Director for Asia Pacific and the British ambassador discussed the census with Rohingya leaders on 18 March.

Burma

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Burma. [R]

Hugo Swire: As I set out in my statement following the UN Special Rapporteur's report to the Human Rights Council on 17 March, we assess that the Burmese Government continues to make encouraging progress across a range of human rights issues. We have seen further releases of political prisoners, ceasefire agreements signed with 10 major ethnic armed groups, the easing of media restrictions and commitments in support of the advancement of women.
	However, many challenges remain, notably in Rakhine and Kachin States. We urge the Government to address the underlying causes of these conflicts to find a long term solution that will bring peace and reconciliation. We are also concerned that individuals remain in prison whose status is disputed. We urge continued dialogue between the Government and civil society to resolve these remaining cases as a matter of urgency.
	The situation in Rakhine State remains of the most serious concern, highlighted most recently by allegations of killings of Rohingya in Du Chee Yar Tan on 13 January 2014. We continue to urge the Burmese Government to deal with allegations of human rights abuses through a credible and transparent investigative and prosecutorial process that meets international standards. We remain particularly concerned about the intimidation of humanitarian workers and the recent constraints around, and threat of expulsion of, Médecins Sans Frontières from Rakhine State, which risks severely affecting the provision of health care in the state.
	It has also been over 18 months since President Thein Sein committed to open an in-country Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights. An Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) would allow for more constructive relations between the international community and the Government on human rights. We call on the Government to publish a timeline for the opening of the Office, with a mandate that includes monitoring and technical assistance.

Burma

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of whether Burma's state institutions have the capacity and capability to conduct an independent and transparent investigation into the persecution of, and violence against, minorities in Burma. [R]

Hugo Swire: The Burmese Government have commissioned state-affiliated groups to carry out a number of investigations into incidents of violence and allegations of persecution against minorities in Burma—for example the investigations into the incident in January in Du Chee Yar Tan village in Northern Rakhine State carried out by the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission, and by the Myanmar Red Cross. We recognise the efforts of these investigations but remain concerned that their reports are not an independent and complete answer to the allegations that have been made. We have made repeatedly clear that such investigations must be transparent and meet international standards.

Burma

Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publicly acknowledge and condemn supporting roles played by the Burmese state in the institutionalisation of persecution and violence against the Rohingya communities in Burma. [R]

Hugo Swire: The Government, both in public and private, set out our concerns about the plight of the Rohingya community repeatedly and at the highest levels: the situation in Rakhine State was top of the agenda for the meeting between the Prime Minister and President Thein Sein in July 2013. During my visit to Burma in January 2014, I urged the Burmese Government to take swift and decisive action to protect the lives and rights of Rohingya. Where the state government or local authorities have been responsible for discrimination, we have highlighted that the central Burmese Government has a responsibility to ensure the human rights of all communities in Rakhine are consistently protected. We are urging action to address impunity and ensure equitable access to justice, promote coexistence and tolerance, create an environment for displaced people to return to their homes, ensure humanitarian access, and enable a path to citizenship for all eligible Rohingya residents.

Commonwealth

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to improve trade relations between Commonwealth members; and if he will make a statement.

Hugo Swire: As I made clear in my speech to the Commonwealth Business Forum held in parallel to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo in November 2013, the UK is committed to strengthening trade across the Commonwealth. At CHOGM, Commonwealth Heads of Government agreed the Kotte Statement on International Trade and Investment which recognised the potential for growth in intra-Commonwealth trade. I continue to lead our engagement with the Commonwealth Business Council and its new chairman, Lord Marland as we work together to strengthen the prosperity of all the Commonwealth's members.
	UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) is now represented in 22 Commonwealth countries. These include high growth markets such as India, Singapore, South Africa and Malaysia and other established markets such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand. We are also working hard to ensure the EU signs ambitious Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Commonwealth countries to improve the access of UK companies to these markets.
	Ahead of this year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, UKTI, the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and the Commonwealth Business Council are working together to deliver a business conference for 200 Commonwealth business leaders. UK Trade & Investment are also organising a British Business House, which will showcase Britain to Commonwealth businesses.

Commonwealth Secretariat

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times his Department met the Commonwealth Secretariat to discuss trade relations in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13.

Hugo Swire: We engage regularly with the Commonwealth Secretariat and other Commonwealth bodies and organisations on a wide range of issues. This involves frequent and senior-level meetings both with the Secretariat and those Commonwealth bodies working on trade relations, for example, the Commonwealth Business Council and the Commonwealth Small States Office. We are committed to strengthening trade and investment in the Commonwealth as I discussed in my meeting with the Commonwealth Secretary-General earlier this week.
	The information specifically requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Gibraltar

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 28 February 2014, Official Report, column 527W, on Gibraltar, what subjects were discussed at the meetings referred to in the answer.

David Lidington: Given the EU is currently a forum for many Gibraltar-related issues, the UK Permanent Representation to the European Union and Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in London have in 2014 been involved in discussions with the European Commission including on the border situation, environmental complaints and tobacco smuggling.

Iraq: Iran

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what recent assessment his Department has made of conditions in Camp Liberty in Iraq; and what estimate he has made of the amount of food and medicine received at that site in the last three months;
	(2)  what recent representations his Department has made to the Government of Iraq on the welfare of residents in Camp Liberty.

Hugh Robertson: We rely on the United Nations for information on conditions at Camp Liberty and the welfare of its residents. UN monitors report that there is no shortage of food or essential provisions in the camp. There have been recent reports of supplies not being able to enter the camp because the camp leadership has not complied with new procedures at a time of heightened security concerns. The UN and Iraqi authorities have intervened to ensure delivery of supplies and have urged the camp residents to comply with correct procedures. We have made no recent representations to the Government of Iraq about the welfare of residents, but continue to support the UN's monitoring work, and to make representations to them and the Government of Iraq, as appropriate.

Occupied Territories

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the UK has made to Israel about the recent settler land encroachment in the West Bank villages of Salfeet, Isaka, Broqeen, Yasouf and Hares.

Hugh Robertson: The Prime Minister raised the issue of settlements during his visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories between 13-14 March.

Ukraine

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress he has made in recovering any Ukrainian assets held in the UK that have been improperly acquired.

David Lidington: The UK is firmly committed to fighting corruption and rooting out stolen assets. We will work with EU partners to ensure the right EU framework is in place to facilitate asset freezes in full compliance with all existing UK regulation. The UK will not be a safe haven for corruptly acquired funds. Our existing domestic legislation requires businesses to conduct enhanced due diligence in relation to transactions with Politically Exposed Persons, including measures to establish source of wealth and funds, and ongoing monitoring of any business relationship. On Monday 17 March the EU imposed visa bans and asset freezes against 21 individuals in Crimea and Russia in response to Russia's failure to deescalate the crisis and enter into negotiations with Ukraine following the invasion of Crimea. HMG are clear that further measures need to be taken, and the European Council will consider further sanctions, including economic and trade measures, later this week.

Western Sahara

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will (a) discuss with the Moroccan ambassador to the UK and (b) instruct the British ambassador in Rabat to investigate reports of injuries by the Moroccan police to Sultana Khaya, President of Saharawi Observatory for the protection of Natural Resources in Bojador when she was demonstrating against the use of Saharawi natural resources in Bojador, Western Sahara.

Hugh Robertson: We are aware of reports of a recent demonstration in Bojador. We regularly emphasise to Morocco the importance of full respect for human rights in Western Sahara, including when policing demonstrations. I raised issues relating to Western Sahara during my trip to Rabat earlier this month.

Western Sahara

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of injuries by the Moroccan military and security services of demonstrators in El Aaiun, Dakhla and Smara, Western Sahara; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: We are aware of reports of recent demonstrations in cities across Western Sahara. We regularly emphasise to Morocco the importance of full respect for human rights in Western Sahara, including when policing demonstrations. I raised issues relating to Western Sahara, including human rights, during my visit to Rabat earlier this month.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Burma

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions she has had with the Burmese Government about resolving the issue of the statelessness of the Rohingya population in Myanmar.

Alan Duncan: I met the Burmese Minister of National Planning and Economic Development when he visited London in March. At the meeting I urged the Burmese Government to work for a long-term solution to bring peace, reconciliation, and prosperity to Rakhine state. DFID continues to urge the government of Burma to re-start the citizenship verification process as soon as possible. It has the broad support of both communities in Rakhine and will help to address some of the underlying causes of tension.

Burma

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make it her policy that demonstrable humanitarian access to Myanmar, including in Rakhine state, is a condition for the increased development aid budget for that country.

Alan Duncan: DFID's aid to Burma, including to Rakhine state, is provided on the basis of the humanitarian and development needs of the poor and vulnerable people there. Progress on humanitarian access is not a condition we set for giving aid in Burma, but we regularly urge the Government to improve humanitarian aid access.

Burma

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions she has had with the Burmese Government on its commitment to release Rohingya political prisoners held in Buthidaung and Maungdaw prisons.

Alan Duncan: DFID welcomed President Thein Sein's order in December 2013 to release all prisoners and persons facing trial for political offences. However, we are concerned there are individuals in prison whose status is disputed. During the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire)’s visit to Burma at the end of January, he personally raised the issue of political prisoners with Soe Thane, Minister of the President's Office, and urged the Government to release all remaining political prisoners. With Shwe Mann, Speaker of the Lower House, he also raised the issue of activists who are being charged under legislation which is not in line with international standards. We will continue to push the Burmese Government to ensure that its review mechanism is comprehensive and transparent, leading to the release of all political prisoners.

Burma

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding the Government provides in Burma for programmes supporting the eradication of drug production.

Alan Duncan: DFID has no programmes in Burma with the specific purpose of the eradication of drug production.

Developing Countries: Family Planning

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to answer to the hon. Member for Foyle of 10 March 2014, Official Report, column 42W, on developing countries: family planning, what empirical bases and methodologies her Department uses in its annual assessment of the extent to which the Government are achieving value for money from its Programme Partnership Arrangement funding to Marie Stopes International and the International Planned Parenthood Federation; how the estimate of 715,929 abortions was arrived at; what meaning is given to unsafe when describing such abortions; and how her Department arrives at an evidence-based understanding of what constitutes an unsafe abortion when no data are collected on the abortions performed by partner organisations.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID's Value for Money assessments of all its Programme Partnership Arrangements, including Marie Stopes International (MSI) and International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF); involves consideration of how they minimise costs and maximise results. Achieved results are compared to pre-agreed outputs and outcomes, and organisations must demonstrate how costs are kept at a proportionate level.
	Estimated numbers of unsafe abortions averted are modelled from collected family planning data entered into the Impact-2 estimator tool, owned by MSI. As with all modelled data the results are approximate. Further information can be found at
	http://www.mariestopes.org/impact-2
	DFID uses the World Health Organisation's (WHO) definition of safe and unsafe abortion; DFID's understanding of abortion levels, safe and unsafe, are guided by WHO data. The most recent estimates of global and regional levels of unsafe abortion and related mortality were published by the WHO in 2012.

Middle East

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions she has had with international non-governmental organisations about the language difficulties of Syrian refugee children in schools in (a) Lebanon and (b) Jordan.

Justine Greening: DFID humanitarian advisers are in regular contact with UNICEF and international non-governmental organisations working on education in Lebanon and Jordan.

Middle East

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what discussions she has had with international non-governmental organisations about the provision of work permits to Syrian refugees in (a) Lebanon and (b) Jordan;
	(2)  what discussions she has had with the Lebanese government on the provision of work permits to Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

Justine Greening: DFID is in regular contact with international non-governmental organisations on this issue.

Trade Union Officials

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding her Department provided for staff to carry out trade union activities in each of the last three years; and how many days staff spent on those activities in those years.

Alan Duncan: DFID expenditure on trade union activities and the number of days spent on those activities, in each of the last three financial years, is detailed in the following table:
	
		
			 Financial year Total days Cost (£) 
			 2010-11 207 33,880 
			 2011-12 169 27,711 
			 2012-13 169 27,931

Uganda

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether her Department directly or indirectly contributed (a) financially and (b) in other ways to the work of the Committee on Human Rights Affairs of the Parliament of Uganda in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13 and (iv) 2013-14.

Lynne Featherstone: DFID provided support to the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, which contributed to the process that created the Committee on Human Rights Affairs of the Parliament of Uganda in 2012. DFID's support to the multi-donor Democratic Governance Facility to the Committee on Human Rights Affairs began in 2012 and runs until June 2014.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcoholic Drinks

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what recent discussions she has had with representatives of the online retail industry to discuss the sale of alcohol online;
	(2)  what steps she is taking to promote the responsible sale of alcohol online;
	(3)  how often she has met representatives of the online retail industry to discuss the sale of age-restricted products in the last two years;
	(4)  what support her Department provides to online retailers to help them identify minors when selling age restricted products.

Norman Baker: Home Office Ministers have meetings with a wide variety of partners and other organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of these meetings are passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis and are subsequently published on the gov.uk website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/search?tab=departments-policy-results&q =Ministers%27+hospitality%2C+gifts%2C+travel+and+meetings
	The Home Secretary has issued guidance to licensing authorities under the Licensing Act 2003 including on the law with regard to online sales of alcohol. All licensed premises conducting online sales must, as a minimum, require those who appear to be under 18 years of age to produce identification bearing their photograph, date of birth and a holographic mark on request, before being served alcohol. Online age verification measures should also be used to ensure, where possible, that alcohol is not sold to any person under the age of 18. This Government has increased the powers available to the police and local authorities to deal with the offence of persistently selling alcohol to children and has doubled the maximum fine to £20,000. These new measures came into force in April 2012.

Asylum: Syria

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Syrians have relocated under the vulnerable person relocation scheme since 29 January 2014.

James Brokenshire: We intend to bring the first Syrians relocated under the Vulnerable Persons Relocation (VPR) scheme, into the UK by the end of March and will provide an update to the House. The scheme prioritises women and children at risk or in need of medical care, and survivors of torture and violence; given the particular vulnerability of these individuals, it has been essential to work with partners including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and local authorities to ensure that the support, services and accommodation they need are in place before they arrive in the UK.

Crime: Staffordshire

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of trends in the level of crime in South Staffordshire in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: The following figures show the total number of police recorded offences in the South Staffordshire Community Safety Partnership for each of the last five years. Recorded crime in South Staffordshire has fallen consistently over the past five years. This is in line with the recorded crime statistics and the independent Crime Survey for England and Wales, which is based on victims' experiences rather than police figures. Both sets of data show police reform is working and crime is continuing to fall. Overall, crime has fallen under this coalition Government by more than 10% according to the Crime Survey and this is mirrored by the fall in police recorded crime since 2010.
	
		
			 Table 1: Total number of crimes (excluding fraud offences) recorded by the police in the South Staffordshire Community Safety Partnership in each of the last five years 
			  Year to September 
			  2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 South Staffordshire 5,649 5,210 4,976 4,141 4,048 
			 Source: Police recorded crime, Home Office

Driving Offences

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many penalties for infringement of advanced stop lines were issued to (a) motorists and (b) cyclists in each of the last three years.

James Brokenshire: Available information relates to the number of fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued to motorists by the police in England and Wales for offences relating to neglect of traffic directions. Data on FPNs reported to the Home Office do not separately identify individual offences from within this group, such as those issued specifically for infringement of advance stop lines.
	There were 168,002 FPNs issued for neglect of traffic directions in 2009, 148,179 in 2010 and 118,129 in 2011. Data for 2012 are scheduled for publication on 3 April 2014.

Female Genital Mutilation

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if she will bring forward legislative proposals to make the reporting of female genital mutilation cases mandatory for all public sector workers;
	(2)  if she will bring forward legislative proposals to make conspiring to perform female genital mutilation a criminal offence.

Norman Baker: holding answer 18 March 2014
	Performing FGM has been a specific criminal offence since the Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act 1985. Conspiring to perform FGM is also an offence. Moreover, the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 made it an offence for UK nationals or permanent UK residents to carry out FGM abroad or to aid, abet, counsel or procure the carrying out of FGM abroad, even in countries where FGM is legal.
	The Ministry of Justice and the Home Office are currently considering proposals from the Director of Public Prosecutions on whether the criminal law can be further strengthened and is also considering whether a civil law remedy might provide an additional tool to tackle FGM.
	Under section 47 of the Children Act 1989, anyone who has information that a child is potentially or actually at risk of significant harm is required to inform social care or the police. FGM is child abuse and the robust frameworks which place clear statutory duties on local authorities and other agencies to safeguard and promote the welfare of children are equally applicable to FGM.

Female Genital Mutilation

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the risk of female genital mutilation is assessed under immigration rules for applicants for asylum in the UK.

James Brokenshire: An individual who claims that she would, on return to her home country, suffer female genital mutilation may qualify for refugee status if she is able to demonstrate that her fear of return is well-founded. Factors that are taken into account when assessing the risk include evidence that female genital mutilation is knowingly tolerated by the authorities or that the authorities are unable or unwilling to offer effective protection. The UK does not seek to remove individuals who face a real risk of persecution on return.
	Asylum decision-makers consider claims for international protection carefully and sensitively and ensure that all evidence relating to an individual's claim is taken into account. Each claim is considered on its own merits in the light of country of origin information and guidance. Specific guidance and training on gender-specific issues, including the risk of female genital mutilation, is provided to decision-makers.

Human Trafficking

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2014, Official Report, column 819W, on human trafficking, on what date the terms of reference for the review of the National Referral Mechanism will be finalised; when the review of the National Referral Mechanism will commence; when the review of the National Referral Mechanism will be (a) completed and (b) published; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: An announcement on the review of the National Referral Mechanism will be made shortly.

Human Trafficking: Children

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how trafficked children will be identified and referred to the Government's new personal advocates trial for child victims of trafficking; and if she will make a statement.

Karen Bradley: We know that children who have been trafficked are incredibly vulnerable and that they are not always getting the support and protection that they need. In January my Department announced proposals to trial specialist, independent advocates for trafficked children. These specialist, independent advocates will be both experts in trafficking, and also completely independent of the local authority.

National Public Order Intelligence Unit

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will extend the review into the Special Demonstration Squad to include also the National Public Order Intelligence Unit.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 17 March 2014
	As the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), said in her statement to the House on 6 March 2014, Official Report, columns 1061-66, there is significant further work that needs to take place before the public inquiry can begin its work. That further work will inform the scope of the inquiry and its terms of reference.

Northern Ireland

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she last visited national security establishments and personnel in Northern Ireland.

James Brokenshire: Home Office Ministers and officials have various meetings with, and visits to, a wide variety of partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery.

Nurseries

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of workplace nurseries available to staff in (a) her Department and (b) her Department's executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies in (i) 2010, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15.

Karen Bradley: No workplace nurseries have been or are available to staff in the Home Department, its executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies in 2010, 2013-14 or 2014-15.
	The Home Office operates a childcare voucher salary sacrifice scheme for staff, which staff can use to help meet the costs of registered child care.

Organised Crime: Northern Ireland

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the potential effect on levels of organised crime in Northern Ireland of extending the operations of the National Crime Agency in Northern Ireland.

Karen Bradley: The National Crime Agency (NCA) is committed to assisting the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to tackle serious and organised crime in Northern Ireland, as far as the restrictions on its powers permit. However, the restrictions on the NCA's operations mean that PSNI resources are used to deal with matters that would be dealt with by the NCA elsewhere in the UK, and PSNI cannot access certain specialist capabilities which are held within the NCA.
	It is not too much of a stretch to conclude that the risks to Northern Ireland from organised crime groups are increased because of this, and that the response to organised crime in Northern Ireland would be more effective if the NCA had access to its full range of powers. I have offered assistance to the Minister of Justice in Northern Ireland, David Ford, in his endeavours to expand the NCA's role, under appropriate accountability arrangements tailored to Northern Ireland's structures.

Rape: Prosecutions

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with chief constables on the proportion of reported rape cases being referred to the Crown Prosecution Service for a decision on prosecution; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: holding answer 17 March 2014
	On 3 February 2014, the Minister of State for Policing, Criminal Justice and Victims and I jointly wrote to all police and crime commissioners and chief constables, encouraging them to use data issued by HMIC on rape, in conjunction with the data on rape referrals from the police to the Crown Prosecution Service, to improve their force's response to rape.

Stalking

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has to extend sections 2A and 4A of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 to Northern Ireland.

Norman Baker: Crime and policing has been a devolved issue in Northern Ireland since April 2010, following the devolution of crime and justice powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Stalking

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints of alleged stalking behaviour were received by each police force in England and Wales in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: The Home Office does not hold data on the number of stalking complaints received by police forces. The available data only cover those offences recorded by the police. Not all complaints will necessarily be recorded as offences.
	Additionally, stalking is not currently an offence classification in its own right, as it is included under a broader harassment classification. It will become a separate offence classification from April 2014.

Terrorism

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she became aware of the administrative scheme giving on-the-run republican terrorist suspects reassurances that they were no longer being sought for prosecution within the UK: and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: holding answer 10 March 2014
	As has been made clear by the legal proceedings relating to Mr Downey, an administrative scheme was in operation from around September 2000. This scheme was devised by the previous Government and referred to by the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Lord John Reid, in a parliamentary question on 1 July 2002, Official Report, column 163W. The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), assumed office on 11 May 2010 and was alerted following John Downey's arrest at London Gatwick on 19 May 2013.
	This Government do not support an amnesty for people wanted by the police in connection with terrorist offences. The Prime Minister announced on Thursday 27 February that a judge would be appointed to provide an independent review of the administrative scheme by the end of May 2014. The review will produce a full public account of the operation and extent of the scheme.

UN Commission on the Status of Women

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the commitments made in the outcome document of the UN Commission on the Status of Women 2013 outcome document have been met and implemented to date; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: Eliminating and preventing violence against women and girls was the priority theme for the Commission on the Status of Women in 2013. The Coalition Government is committed to fulfilling our obligations to tackle such violence both in the UK and overseas. The cross-Government Action Plan, “A Call to End Violence against Women and Girls”, was published on 8 March and incorporates key recommendations from the “Agreed Conclusions”.

Wildlife: Animal Experiments

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what controls are in place to ensure that wild animals imported into the UK under scientific licences are only used for scientific purposes and not sold as pets or used for other purposes.

Norman Baker: The issue of the release of protected animals from the controls of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 is set out in section 17a of the Act.
	A protected animal must not be released unless the Secretary of State has consented and is satisfied:
	That the animal's state of health allows it to be set free or re-homed;
	that the setting free or re-homing of the animal poses no danger to public health, animal health or the environment;
	that there is an adequate scheme in place for ensuring the socialisation of the animal upon being set free or re-homed; and
	that other appropriate measures have been taken to safeguard the animal's wellbeing upon being set free or re-homed.
	The Secretary of State must not consent to the setting free of a relevant protected animal which has been taken from the wild unless the Secretary of State is also satisfied that the animal has undergone a programme of rehabilitation or that it would be inappropriate for the animal to be required to undergo such a programme.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Fuel Poverty: Blackburn

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many (a) energy companies obligation, (b) affordable warmth and (c) green deal grants were allocated in the BB postcode area in each year since 2012.

Gregory Barker: Data for the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) are currently available at local authority and parliamentary constituency level. We do not publish data at postcode level. However, the BB postcode areas cover a number of local authorities including Blackburn and Darwen unitary authority area, and the Green Deal and ECO quarterly Official Statistics release includes breakdowns by both administrative area and parliamentary constituency for the provisional number of ECO measures by obligation, including affordable warmth, up to the end of September 2013. See Tables 1.10a and 1.10b at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/green-deal-energy-company-obligation-eco-and-insulation-levels-in-great-britain-quarterly-report-to-september-2013
	The next quarterly Official Statistics release, covering activity up to the end of December 2013, is planned for publication on 20 March 2014.
	Green Deal is not a grant regime. Green Deal Finance Plans are one element of the scheme. DECC will publish regional breakdowns of “live” Green Deal plans on 20 March 2014 and more detailed geographic breakdowns as the programme becomes more established.

Fuel Poverty: Lancashire

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of people who have been removed from fuel poverty as a result of the energy companies obligation in (a) Lancashire and (b) Pendle constituency.

Gregory Barker: ECO plays a vital role in tackling the principal cause of fuel poverty—energy inefficient housing. The Affordable Warmth and Carbon Saving Communities elements of ECO are specifically directed at tackling fuel poverty. Over time, official statistics will indicate how policies such as ECO are driving up energy efficiency standards in fuel poor homes. However, we cannot estimate the number of individuals or households removed from fuel poverty as a result of a single policy on a regional or constituency basis.
	ECO delivery data are available by administrative area and constituency. The figures for Affordable Warmth and Carbon Saving Communities are:
	
		
			 Area Number of Affordable Warmth measures Number of Carbon Saving Communities measures Total 
			 Lancashire (administrative area) 4,699 1,582 6,281 
			 Pendle (constituency) 563 162 725 
		
	
	These figures have been taken from our most recent report, from December 2013, which relates to ECO delivery up to the end of September 2013.
	This report and future updates are hosted on the ECO and Green Deal statistics website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/green-deal-and-energy-company-obligation-eco-statistics

Nuclear Power Stations

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will suspend co-operation between his Department and the Russian state nuclear company Rosatom on planning for a new nuclear plant.

Michael Fallon: The Government and Rosatom signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Establishing a Programme of Commercial Co-operation in Civil Nuclear Energy in September last year. Decisions on how this work will be taken forward are under consideration in the light of recent developments in Ukraine.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Nurseries

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate she has made of the number of workplace nurseries available to staff in (a) her Department and (b) her Department's non-departmental public bodies in (i) 2010, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15.

Theresa Villiers: My Department does not operate any workplace nurseries; staff have access to the Westminster Holiday Play Scheme which parents can use during the school holidays.
	My Department has two executive non-departmental public bodies—the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland; and one advisory non-departmental public body—the Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland. As such bodies are independent of Government, the hon. Member may wish to write to the Commissions directly on this matter—contact details are set out in the following table:
	
		
			 Public Body Status Contact Details 
			 Parades Commission for Northern Ireland Executive NDPB info@paradescommission.org 
			 Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission Executive NDPB information@nihrc.org 
			 Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland Advisory NDPB bcni@belfast.org.uk

Public Order Offences: Belfast

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment she has made of rates of prosecutions in North Belfast for public order offences.

Theresa Villiers: Public order issues are primarily a matter for the Minister of Justice and the Chief Constable in line with the devolution settlement.
	The prosecution of those involved in public disorder is a matter for the PSNI and the independent Public Prosecution Service.

Public Order Offences: Belfast

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions she has had with (a) the Northern Ireland Justice Minister, (b) the Director of Public Prosecutions and (c) the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland on the prosecution of public order offences in Belfast.

Theresa Villiers: Public order issues are primarily a matter for the Minister of Justice and the Chief Constable in line with the devolution settlement.
	I do however meet regularly with the Chief Constable and the Minister of Justice to discuss a range of issues and this would include public order as and when appropriate.

Terrorism

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many terrorist acts by alleged (a) republicans and (b) loyalists have been recorded by the Police Service of Northern Ireland in the last 12 months.

Theresa Villiers: PSNI Statistics and Research Branch regularly publish security situation statistics which include terrorist acts. The most recent bulletin published on 18 March 2014 covering the period 1 March 2013 to 28 February 2014 can be found at the following link:
	http://www.psni.police.uk/security_situation_statistics_to_february_2014.pdf
	It is not possible to break these down to acts by alleged loyalists and republicans.

TRANSPORT

Railway Stations

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has to improve existing railway stations and build new ones.

Stephen Hammond: The Government are providing £100 million to the National Stations Improvement Fund and £100 million for Access for All in the period 2014-19. This is in addition to major investment which is already under way at Birmingham New Street and Reading.
	It is for local transport authorities to identify whether a new station is the best way to meet local transport need and, if so, to secure funding from locally allocated funds such as the Local Growth Fund.

High Speed 2

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to ensure that High Speed 2 represents value for money.

Robert Goodwill: The Government are determined to maximise the transport and wider benefits HS2 delivers for the UK economy. The project already offers high value for money and we have also established the HS2 Growth Task Force to advise is on how to further exploit those benefits. The task force will report on the 21 March.

Rail Network Infrastructure

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to improve the rail network infrastructure.

Stephen Hammond: Our rail investment strategy will see investments of £16 billion by Government which forms part of Network Rail's £38 billion investment in improvements to the rail network by 2019. This includes major capacity increases into and between our major cities and a rolling programme of electrification. Demand for rail continues to grow and our plans for HS2 provide a step-change in the capacity and speed of rail services in the next decade.

Rural Bus Services

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to support rural bus services.

Stephen Hammond: The Government remain committed to improving bus services for all and expenditure on buses reflects this. This year, the Government will spend over £1 billion on the concessionary travel entitlement, and over £340 million in direct subsidy to bus operators in England. Over £300 million has been allocated to funding major bus projects in the last year.

Road and Rail Network: Flooding

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect of recent flooding on the rail and road network.

Patrick McLoughlin: I recognise that the wettest winter on record has impacted on transport links in many parts of the country. The Department for Transport is providing over £209 million to help repair damage to both rail and roads as quickly as possible. I have also appointed Richard Brown to conduct a targeted review of the response of the transport network to extreme weather events and for him to report to me by the summer.

Road Markings

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment his Department has made of the overall condition of road markings on roads and motorways.

Robert Goodwill: Highway authorities have a duty of care to ensure road markings are maintained so that they can be seen by motorists.
	Contractors are required to regularly monitor the condition of markings on trunk roads and motorways.

Bus Services: Disability

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the answer of 27 February 2012, Official Report, column 151W, on bus services: disability, what steps the Government have taken to ensure that operators comply with the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000.

Stephen Hammond: In order to ensure compliance with the specific requirements of the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000 (PSVAR), the Department for Transport funds inspection work undertaken by vehicle examiners from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. In order to understand overall compliance trends, the Department also monitors latest survey statistics, which as of September 2013 show that 78% of buses in England have PSVAR certificates, while 92% of buses are low floor.

Bus Services: Finance

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 26 February 2014, Official Report, column 386W, on bus services: finance, if he will provide a breakdown of (a) funding previously paid to bus operators for running services under tender to local authorities, (b) funding previously paid to local authorities for running community transport services in-house, (c) bus service operators' grant funding and top-up payments for those authorities which have been designated as Better Bus Areas for (i) each of the last three years and (ii) the next two years.

Stephen Hammond: The sums in question which we will be devolving to local authorities in April each year replace the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG) previously paid to (i) bus operators for running services under tender, and (ii) local authorities who run community transport services in-house. The sums to be paid to local authorities each April have been calculated based on the amount of BSOG previously paid for tendered and in-house services in their area in the most recent 12 month period for which records were available.
	Our current estimate for the total annual sum to be devolved is £39.2 million for tendered services, and £2.7 million for in-house community transport ones.
	The amount of devolved grant funding which we have paid and expect to pay to authorities in the five Better Bus Areas (BBAs) is as follows:
	
		
			  £ million (rounded) 
			 2012-13 0.5 
			 2013-14 2.5 
			 2014-15 4.9 
			 2015-16 7.3 
		
	
	The first of these BBAs was set up in 2012-13, so no figures are available for earlier years.

Cycling: Safety

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 11 February 2014, Official Report, column 525W, on cycling: safety, if he will publish a breakdown of the source of cycling funding by (a) central Government, (b) local authority and (c) the private sector for the period 2005 to 2010.

Robert Goodwill: From the 2005-06 financial year through to 2010-11 cycling was funded by the Department for Transport through Cycling England, an arm’s length organisation set up in 2005. During the five years 2005-06 to 2009-10 Cycling England received £105 million from central Government. This compares to £278 million funding for cycling from central Government from 2010-11 to 2014-15.
	The Department does not hold records for local authority funding. There are a wide variety of sources local authorities may use to fund cycling, therefore the local authorities themselves will be best placed to respond. Similarly, the Department does not record private sector funding.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to respond to the High Speed 2 Environmental Statement consultation.

Robert Goodwill: The purpose of the consultation on the Environmental Statement is to inform MPs of the public's views on it, ahead of them voting on whether the High Speed Rail (London—West Midlands) Bill should be read a second time. The independent assessor, appointed by Parliament, will prepare a report summarising the issues raised in the responses to the Environmental Statement consultation, by 7 April. There is therefore no intention to provide a formal Government response. A response to last year's consultation on the draft Environmental Statement was published when the Bill was introduced.

Kettering Station

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to ensure that Kettering station has a half-hourly service northwards on the Midland Mainline restored to it when the East Midlands Trains franchise is renegotiated.

Stephen Hammond: The process for awarding the East Midlands Trains franchise has not yet started. As part of this process the Department for Transport will consider what affordable improvements can be made that may deliver value for money on the franchise.

Roads: Repairs and Maintenance

Jesse Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to repair potholes.

Robert Goodwill: The Department for Transport is providing over £1 billion to local authorities this financial year for local highways maintenance which includes tackling potholes.
	The Chancellor of the Exchequer on 19 March as part of the Budget announced an additional £200 million in 2014-15 specifically to address the problem of potholes—£168 million of this new funding is being made available to councils in England. Further guidance will be made available on how councils can bid for this funding in the coming weeks.
	The Highways Maintenance Efficiency Programme which the Department for Transport sponsors published a report in April 2012 which provides advice to councils on how to deal with potholes. This is available at the following weblink:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/3995/pothole-review.pdf

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal Welfare: Circuses

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when the Government plans to bring forward legislative proposals on the use of wild animals in circuses.

George Eustice: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 6 March 2014, Official Report, column 980W.

Bats

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to mitigate the impact of bats on churches; if he will set out a timetable for such steps; and if he will make a statement.

George Eustice: holding answer 18 March 2014
	DEFRA has commissioned research to identify techniques that can be used to deter bats from sensitive areas of churches. We plan to publish the findings soon, it is anticipated that Natural England will then participate in work to trial techniques identified by the research in several churches during the course of 2014 and develop a toolkit and advice pack for use by the beginning of 2015.

Floods: Northamptonshire

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what flood prevention measures have been undertaken in (a) Corby and East Northamptonshire and (b) Northamptonshire in the last four years; and how many staff of (i) his Department and (ii) the Environment Agency have been employed on those matters.

Dan Rogerson: Following severe flooding from the River Nene in 1998, significant investment in flood risk management structures and defences was undertaken in the following locations in Northamptonshire:
	Thrapston (in the Corby and East Northamptonshire constituency);
	Northampton;
	Weedon; and
	Kislingbury.
	The following table details key flood risk management projects and studies undertaken in the last four years in Northamptonshire (including Corby and East Northamptonshire).
	
		
			 Project Name Area Lead Organisation/Risk Management Authority Description 
			 Corby Flood Risk Management Study Corby and East Northants Corby Borough Council (CBC) Supporting CBC with flood risk technical advice in relation to the study which is: Reviewing all flood risk problems throughout the Borough of Corby Focussing on three main areas: Gainsborough Road, Pen Green and Cottingham Road 
			 Reservoir Safety—Weldon Flood Storage Reservoir Corby and East Northants Environment Agency Works to the flood storage reservoir spillway. These works were undertaken to ensure the reservoir remained compliant with the Reservoirs Act 1975 and continues to provide effective flood storage. 
			 Property Level Protection (PLP) Project Northants Environment Agency Isolated properties that fall within 'significant risk' categories—working in partnership with NCC to look at properties that also experience surface water flooding problems. This project is currently in the early stages of development with surveys being undertaken. 
			 Wooldale Road Northampton Northants Environment Agency An embankment was created to reduce the risk of fluvial flooding on Wooldale road at a low spot adjacent to Wootton Brook. 
			 Flood Defence Grant in Aid (FDGiA) project bids Northants Environment Agency Developing and submitting bids for FDGiA funded Flood Risk Management projects. Coordinating bids from other Risk Management Authorities. 
			 FDGiA Scheme Bids Northants Northants County Council (NCC) and other Risk Management Organisations Supporting NCC, and others, with the submission of their bids for FDGiA funded Flood Risk Management projects. 
			 Section 19 Investigations Northants Northants County Council (NCC) Supporting NCC undertake Section 19 investigations in accordance with the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. This includes the investigation into flooding at Gainsborough Road. See the following link to NCC's website detailing the reports published to date: www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/en/councilservices/Environ/flood/Pages/Flood-Investigations.aspx 
		
	
	With regard to maintenance, the Environment Agency has a planned programme for watercourse and flood defence inspections in accordance with nationally defined standards. Watercourses are inspected annually to assess the condition of flood defences and flow carrying capacities. Following asset inspections, maintenance is undertaken as appropriate, such as weed/vegetation clearance during the summer months, cutting grass on raised defences and bushing works during winter months.
	An average of 15 Environment Agency staff (full-time equivalents) are engaged in flood risk management work (maintenance, incident management, partnership work and project work) in Northamptonshire. This is supplemented by contractors as required. It is not possible to provide a separate figure for the Corby and East Northamptonshire constituency.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 25 February 2014, Official Report, column 287W on unmanned air vehicles, if he will publish a full list of all unmanned air vehicles systems used by those agencies; how many such systems have been acquired for use by those agencies; and what his Department's policy is on the storage and use of data obtained by such systems. [R]

Dan Rogerson: Core DEFRA has not acquired or used unmanned air vehicle systems. The Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science have acquired two fixed wing Quest 200 vehicles. The Royal Botanic Gardens have acquired a Flysense Ebee fixed wing aircraft.
	The Food and Environment Research Agency, Environment Agency, Natural England and the Royal Botanic Gardens have all used and trialled vehicles operated by commercial suppliers, including a Trimble Gatewing, a DJI S800 Spreading Wings, a Swinglet and an Albotix Intl Aibot X6 Hexacopter.
	DEFRA has a range of policies and guidance in place to ensure secure and effective management of data obtained from various sources including unmanned air vehicle systems. The vehicles are not gathering information that identifies individuals. The following guidance note has been issued.
	Guidance note issued to relevant DEFRA network staff on Data Protection aspects of unmanned air vehicles
	Current Remotely Piloted Aerial Systems (RPAS) capability and use in the DEFRA network is for still and not video images. These images are obtained from a vertical overhead angle Image resolution and the overhead angle of the images means individuals cannot be identified. Neither can other sensitive personal data, such as car number plates. RPAS is used on the DEFRA estate, over third party property with the owner's permission, and in areas where the owner or occupier is unknown.
	Where RPAS is used over the DEFRA estate, personal data is not captured. Where RPAS is used to capture images away from the estate, the data captured should be considered to be personal data, as defined by the DPA, if the land is owned or rented by natural, living persons. This is because it contains information about personal property, such as types of crops growing at a specific location, which can be linked to a natural person.
	This type of data is considered low sensitivity.
	DEFRA provides guidance on the Data Protection Act's 8 data protection principles (DPPs) in part I of schedule 1 to the DPA. Where images relate to land where the owner or occupier is unknown, the fair processing requirement-informing subjects of personal data, could be difficult to comply with. In such cases, this requirement could be achieved by placing a relevant fair processing notice on the DEFRA/agency website, but all reasonable measures must be taken so far as is practicable to inform each individual land owner or tenant.

Wildlife: Imports

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to determine whether wild animals being imported into the UK are being sourced (a) illegally from the wild and (b) from legal captive-breeding facilities; what estimate he made of the number of animals so imported in the last three years; and what steps he takes to ensure good animal welfare standards in captive-breeding facilities in the UK.

George Eustice: The UK is a party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Information related to the import into the EU of any CITES specimen is the responsibility of, and is provided by, the CITES Management Authority of the exporting country. The UK must accept an export permit from a third country as being proof that specimens were obtained in accordance with the relevant legislation of the country concerned. However, if on import officials have reason to believe such information has been misdeclared, the specimen can be seized at the Border Inspection Post. DEFRA does not keep records of such seizures and has made no assessment of numbers of wild sourced specimens illegally imported.
	The number of applications for imports of captive bred CITES specimens in the last three years is as follows:
	
		
			  Applications Species Number of specimens 
			 2011 394 78 15,021 
			 2012 459 97 17,360 
			 2013 394 91 13,529 
		
	
	Any import requests for captive bred CITES specimens are assessed by the UK's Scientific Authority (the Joint Nature Conservation Committee). This may involve the seeking of additional information from the country of origin. Specific animal welfare requirements usually fall to local authorities under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (AWA). The AWA requires that all owners and keepers have to provide for the welfare needs of their animals; anyone failing to do so may be guilty of an offence. The UK's CITES licensing authority (the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency) may require a care and accommodation questionnaire to be completed by an applicant to provide data regarding the final destination facilities of an import as part of the application process.
	The Zoo Licensing Act 1981 sets out a comprehensive inspection regime for zoos: inspections must look at all features of the zoo relevant to the health, welfare and safety of the animals in them and the public.

Woodland Grant Scheme

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 29 January 2014, Official Report, columns 552-3W, on forests: finance, in which parliamentary constituencies the unsuccessful grant applications were located.

Dan Rogerson: The English Woodland Grant Scheme is administered by the Forestry Commission and it does not record information on the location of unsuccessful grant applications by parliamentary constituency. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Equality and Human Rights Commission

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what estimate she has made of the number of staff working for the Equality and Human Rights Commission who are employed through off-payroll arrangements in each of the last six financial years; and how long each such individual had been so employed by the Commission.

Helen Grant: The Equality and Human Rights Commission is an independent body and is responsible for its own staff management, including claims for expenses. I have therefore asked the Chief Executive of the Commission to write to the hon. Member with the information requested within the next 10 days. I shall arrange for a copy of this letter to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Equality and Human Rights Commission

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what estimate she has made of pay gaps in respect of (a) gender, (b) race and (c) disability amongst employees of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in each of the last five financial years; and whether such estimates take account of salaries of staff employed through off-payroll arrangements.

Helen Grant: The Equality and Human Rights Commission is an independent body and is responsible for its own staff management, including pay. I have therefore asked the Chief Executive of the Commission to write to the hon. Member with the information requested within the next 10 days. I shall arrange for a copy of this letter to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Equality and Human Rights Commission

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities if she will place in the Library a list of expenses which were (a) claimed by and (b) paid to (i) Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Board members, (ii) members of the EHRC Senior Management team and (iii) all staff employed via off-payroll arrangements in each of the last three financial years.

Helen Grant: The Equality and Human Rights Commission is an independent body and is responsible for its own staff management, including claims for expenses. I have therefore asked the Chief Executive of the Commission to write to the hon. Member with the information requested within the next 10 days. I shall arrange for a copy of this letter to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Equality and Human Rights Commission

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what assessment she has made of the (a) average and (b) highest daily rate paid to staff working for the Equality and Human Rights Commission employed through off-payroll arrangements in each of the last six financial years.

Helen Grant: The Equality and Human Rights Commission is an independent body and is responsible for its own staff management, including staff pay arrangements. I have therefore asked the Chief Executive of the Commission to write to the hon. Member with the information requested within the next 10 days. I shall arrange for a copy of this letter to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Equality and Human Rights Commission

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how many members of staff working for the Equality and Human Rights Commission who are employed through off-payroll arrangements were remunerated by payment to a personal services company; and what the total value of any such payments was in each of the last six financial years.

Helen Grant: The Equality and Human Rights Commission is an independent body and is responsible for its own staff management, including pay arrangements. I have therefore asked the Chief Executive of the Commission to write to the hon. Member with the information requested within the next 10 days. I shall arrange for a copy of this letter to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to paragraph 39 of the final report of UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism dated 28 February 2014, if he will publish the investigations report on civilian casualties through use of remotely piloted aircraft by the UK in Afghanistan.

Mark Francois: Any incident involving civilian casualties is a matter of deep regret and we take every possible measure to avoid such incidents. The report of UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, dated 28 February 2014, details the only known incident in over 57,000 hours of UK Reaper operations that resulted in the deaths of civilians. This incident took place on 25 March 2011 and resulted in the death of four civilians in addition to two insurgents. An International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) investigation was carried out and concluded that the actions of the Reaper crew had been in accordance with extant procedures and ISAF rules of engagement. As this was an ISAF investigation, any final decision on the report’s disclosure sits within the ISAF chain of command.

Air Force: Equipment

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the (a) quantity and (b) value is of all transport equipment tangible fixed asset items valued at £1 million or over held on Air Command's balance sheet;
	(2)  what the (a) quantity and (b) value is of all plant and machinery tangible fixed asset items valued at £1 million or over held on Air Command's balance sheet.

Philip Dunne: All of Air Command's tangible fixed asset items with a value of over £1 million are held on the Defence Equipment and Support balance sheet. The total number and value of assets valued over £1 million at present Net Book Value, rounded to the nearest million, is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Type Number Value (£ million) 
			 Transport 77 1,429 
			 Plant, Machinery and Vehicles 14 91

Armed Forces: Rape

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the military prosecutor who made the decision not to bring any charges in relation to the rape allegation brought by Corporal Anne-Marie Ellement had undertaken the specialist training on rape and sexual offences compulsory for CPS prosecutors who work on rape cases at the time of that decision.

Anna Soubry: I will write to the hon. Member shortly.

Army Personnel Centre

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost under each category of expenditure was at the Army Personnel Centre at Kentigern House in each of the last 10 years.

Andrew Murrison: The information available on the operating costs of the Army Personnel Centre is as follows:
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Financial year1 Personnel Infrastructure Other Total 
			 2007-08 30.1 1.2 1.2 32.5 
			 2008-09 31.2 1.5 1.2 33.9 
			 2009-10 32.0 1.2 1.0 34.2 
			 2010-11 32.3 1.2 0.8 34.3 
			 2011-122 32.3 0.4 0.8 33.5 
			 2012-132 31.3 0.4 0.8 32.5 
			 1 Information on financial years before 2007-08 could be provided only at disproportionate cost; we are not required to retain financial data for more than seven financial years, including the financial year in progress. 2 From 2011-12, some Kentigern House infrastructure costs previously borne by the Army Personnel Centre for the whole building became the responsibility of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation and are no longer attributable by individual lodger unit in Kentigern House. Note: The Army Personnel Centre bears some elements of support cost on behalf of all units located in Kentigern House.

Defence: Procurement

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of 2014DIN01-023, Engagement with suppliers, contractors and former bidders following termination of the Material Strategy GO-CO procurement.

Philip Dunne: A copy of the Defence Instruction Notice has been placed in the Library of the House.

Dounreay

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which radionuclides were emitted from the Vulcan Naval Reactor Test Establishment at Dounreay following the January 2012 incident; and in what quantities.

Philip Dunne: Discharges from the Naval Reactor Test Establishment have remained well within the limits approved by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. The most up-to-date figures are from 2012, and are shown in the following tables.
	
		
			 Annual Site Liquid Discharges (MBq) 
			 Type 2012 SEPA approved limit 
			 Cobalt-60 53 15,000 
			 Other Beta 221 5,000 
			 Tritium 21,688 150,000 
		
	
	
		
			 Annual Site Gaseous Discharges (MBq) 
			 Type 2012 SEPA approved limit 
			 Noble Gas 2,157 5,000 
			 Beta Particulate 1.2 5.1

Dounreay

Gemma Doyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Commodore at Faslane Naval Base was alerted that collant radioactivity had been detected in the prototype reactor at NRTE Dounreay.

Philip Hammond: The then Naval Base Commander Clyde was briefed in June 2012 on the issue with the reactor at the Naval Reactor Test Establishment. The brief was given on a need-to-know basis because of the potential impact on submarine operations if a similar issue arose on an in-service submarine. He was also briefed that there was no safety or environmental risk.

Military Bases

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost in each category of expenditure was of (a) RAF Leuchars, (b) HMNB Clyde, (c) RM Condor, (d) Headquarters 2nd Division, (e) Headquarters 51 Brigade, (f) Redford Barracks, (g) Dreghorn Barracks, (h) RAF Kinloss, (i) Fort George Barracks, (j) Glencorse Barracks, (k) Defence Munitions Centre Crombie, (l) Defence Munitions Centre Beith, (m) Defence Munitions Centre Glen Douglas, (n) HMS Gannet, (o) RNAD Coulport, (p) MOD Hebrides Ranges, (q) British Underwater Testing and Evaluation Centre, (r) Loch Ewe fuel depot, (s) Garelochead Defence training centre and oil fuel depot, (t) HMS Caledonia, (u) Rosyth Defence Estate and (v) West Freugh training ranges area in each of the last two years.

Andrew Murrison: This information will take time to collate. I will write to the hon. Member shortly.

Military Bases: Yorkshire and the Humber

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 6 January 2014, Official Report, columns 14-15W, on military bases: Yorkshire and the Humber, if he will place in the Library copies of all letters and emails sent by his Department, the CDS, the CGS, or officers or officials working for them to, or received from the officer commanding 15 Brigade or from officers or officials working in 15 Brigade headquarters about the proposal to merge 15 Brigade into a new Adaptive Force Brigade and about where the new Adaptive Force Brigade headquarters should be based.

Mark Francois: Basing decisions were taken by the Army Command Group. We are checking whether it sent or received any relevant communications on this matter and I will write to the hon. Member as I originally committed to do during my meeting with him in January of this year.

MOD St Athan

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was of the provision of functional skills training for MoD St Athan by Bridgend College in each year since 2008; what the projected costs of the provision of functional skills training by a private contractor in future years; whether an assessment of the business case for the transfer of that training to a contracted provider was carried out prior to the decision to make that transfer; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: I will write to the hon. Member shortly.

RAF Mildenhall

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether US C-17 aircraft carrying MQ-1 Predators refuel at RAF Mildenhall.

Mark Francois: United States Air Force C-17 aircraft carrying MQ-1 Predators are permitted to land at RAF Mildenhall for refuelling under standing Diplomatic Flight Clearance arrangements. The Ministry of Defence has consulted its records for the last 12 months and no such flights have taken place during this period.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of potential effects of the five additional Reaper remotely-piloted aircraft systems procured under an urgent operational requirement on the final part of the armed forces redundancy programme.

Mark Francois: There will be no redundancies in the final phase of the programme associated with the introduction into service of Reaper remotely piloted air system.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

National Museum of Computing

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to her answer of 24 February 2014, Official Report, column 148W, on the National Museum of Computing, what response she has had to her letter; and what progress the Arts Council has made in mediation of the disagreement.

Edward Vaizey: I have had no response to the letter to which the hon. Member refers. I understand that the Arts Council England have reiterated their offer of mediation and remain keen to support a positive outcome to the dispute.

UN Commission on the Status of Women

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans she has to highlight the importance of women in the workplace at the forthcoming discussions on decent work at the UN Commission on the Status of Women 2014.

Helen Grant: On 11 March the UK delivered its national statement at the EU Commission on the Status of Women. The statement drew attention to the need for more women to be empowered and achieve economic independence. We took the opportunity to highlight the importance of enabling more women and girls to participate in education and training, preparing them for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers.
	At the Commission the Minister for Women and Equalities, my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller), co-hosted an international event with Glaxo SmithKline and the Tanzanian Government, specifically to promote women working in STEM industries.
	A panel session entitled “The transition of women from education to full employment and decent work, with a particular focus on employment in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)” was held at the UN on 18 March. UK officials attended the session.

World War I: Anniversaries

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what type of wreath or floral tribute the Government will use in official ceremonies to commemorate the outbreak of the First World War.

Helen Grant: The Government are currently considering the exact details of the commemoration of the outbreak, and all other forthcoming anniversaries, of the first world war. This includes floral tributes, wreaths and other commemorative tributes.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Cable Systems

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the approved cables initiative; and whether he has considered bringing forward legislative proposals to ensure that only cables compliant with British, European or international standards which carry a third-party certificate are sold in the UK.

Michael Fallon: I am aware of the objectives of the approved cables initiative and have previously been made aware of the concerns of the cable industry. To help address these concerns, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has undertaken an assessment of the state of the UK market and determined that although there was lack of awareness of the existing product safety legislation, there was not significant evidence of unsafe cables.
	There is robust product safety legislation relating to cables, requiring them to be safe. Safety is determined on the basis of good engineering practice. Manufacturers self-assess their conformity with the legislation. The principle of the legislation is that use of a standard is not mandatory. However, manufacturers have the option of using relevant standards to demonstrate that their products are compliant with the requirements of the legislation. The legislation forms part of the European legislation regulating the internal market; additional legislative requirements, such as for third-party testing, would constitute an unlawful technical barrier to trade.

Green Investment Bank

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with local authorities on promoting the Green Investment Bank's new green loan scheme;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with the Green Investment Bank on the uptake of the new green loan scheme by local authorities.

Michael Fallon: I am currently exploring with the Green Investment Bank how this Department can help promote implementation of energy efficiency measures within the public sector generally, including helping to raise awareness of the Green Investment Bank's new green loan facility as a means of financing such measures.

Intellectual Property

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure that registered intellectual property is used productively; and if he will make a statement.

David Willetts: The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) provides support and information to business on how to make the most of all forms of intellectual property (IP), whether registered or unregistered. In 2013 the IPO launched “IP for Business”, a set of training tools and advice to help businesses understand IP and how it can be used within a business to generate revenue. The IPO also funds 300 IP audits, targeted through partners at high growth businesses. These audits provide businesses with a detailed report, created by an IP expert, to help them develop an IP management strategy to make sure they get maximum value from their IP.

Investment: Northern Ireland

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will hold discussions with the Northern Ireland Enterprise Minister on potential economic effects of private sector investment into the Northern Ireland economy by companies located in the South East of England.

Matthew Hancock: The UK Government are working with the Northern Ireland Executive to stimulate inward investment. Over 700 foreign investors have chosen Northern Ireland because it is an excellent place to do business, benefiting from a competitive environment, highly educated workforce and reliable infrastructure.
	The 2014 Budget also includes a number of measures which will further help Northern Ireland businesses to invest and export. Increases in the Annual Investment Allowance for all businesses and Enhanced Capital Allowances for a pilot Enterprise Zone near Coleraine will allow businesses to claim deductions in tax more quickly, supporting them to invest and expand.

Overseas Trade: Ukraine

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the value of bilateral trade between the UK and Ukraine in 2013.

Michael Fallon: The estimated value of bilateral trade between the UK and Ukraine in 2013 is £996 million (in goods only)1.
	An estimate of the value of total (goods and services) bilateral trade between the UK and Ukraine in 2013 will be published by the ONS on 31 October 2014.
	1Source:
	ONS

Patents

Adam Afriyie: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the UK economy of patent trolls and patent assertion entities.

David Willetts: We have no current estimate of the annual cost to the UK economy. However, the UK Intellectual Property Office has commissioned work on patent litigation in the UK, as part of an international study. This included a review of actions by Patent Assertion Entities (PAEs) by Dr Luke McDonagh of London School of Economics. Its results showed that PAE actions in UK courts were usually unsuccessful and that their business model is not attractive if they have to run the risk of costs after losing. Fewer than a dozen cases reached the UK courts in the period 2000-08. This is a much smaller proportion than the “troll” litigation evident in the USA.

Students: Loans

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent estimate he has made of the RAB charge on student loans.

David Willetts: This Department has been reviewing our modelling of the RAB charge on student loans. We currently estimate the RAB charge on student loans to be around 45%, which reflects our current estimate of the costs to Government of the higher education subsidy to students. By its nature an estimate is subject to change as it is highly dependent on macroeconomic circumstances, and the growth of graduate earnings over the next 30 years.
	We will continue to review our estimates in line with the latest data and advice from experts and stakeholders.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the Offshore Wind Industrial Strategy, how many new apprenticeships have been created as part of the Wind Turbine Engineering Apprenticeship Scheme.

Matthew Hancock: The National Skills Academy for Power, have reported that around 80 full-time apprentices have either completed or are shortly to complete, the Wind Turbine Engineering Apprenticeship Scheme.
	Official Statistics on apprenticeships are not broken down to this level of detail.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the Offshore Wind Industrial Strategy, which higher education and professional institutions are including more offshore wind specific content in engineering courses.

Michael Fallon: The National Skills Academy for Power reports six further education colleges are in discussions to include offshore wind content in their engineering courses.

JUSTICE

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many appeals against decisions on entitlement to (a) employment and support allowance and (b) personal independence payment there were in each month in each of the last three years in each court and in each local authority area.

Shailesh Vara: The First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support), administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service, hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions’ decisions on a range of benefits, including employment and support allowance (ESA) and personal independence payment (PIP).
	Data for the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) Tribunal cannot be provided by local authority area. All appeals to the tribunal are registered in the processing centre in the region where the appellant lives, and data can be broken down to the level of these processing centres and to the venue in which they were heard.
	(a) Due to the volume of data required to answer the question in respect of appeals made against decisions about claims for ESA, I will arrange for this information, broken down by SSCS tribunal venue and processing centre, to be placed in the Library of the House.
	(b) PIP is progressively replacing disability living allowance from April 2013. There are a number of stages a claim made to the DWP must pass through before an appeal reaches the tribunal. Therefore the tribunal only started to receive appeals made against PIP decisions in July 2013.
	The following tables show the number of PIP appeals received by the tribunal from April to September 2013 (the latest period for which information is available) by (1) SSCS hearing venue and by (2) processing centre.
	
		
			 Venue April 2013 May 2013 June 2013 July 2013 August 2013 September 2013 YTD 2013-14 
			 Birmingham 0 0 0 0 1— 0 1— 
			 Bolton 0 0 0 0 0 1— 1— 
			 Bury 0 0 0 0 0 1— 1— 
			 Fox Court (S) 0 0 0 0 0 1— 1— 
			 Glasgow 0 0 0 0 0 1— 1— 
			 Lancaster 0 0 0 0 0 1— 1— 
			 Liverpool 0 0 0 0 1— 1— 1— 
			 Middlesbrough 0 0 0 1— 1— 1— 1— 
		
	
	
		
			 Processing centre April 2013 May 2013 June 2013 July 2013 August 2013 September 2013 YTD 2013-14 
			 Birmingham 0 0 0 0 1— 0 1— 
			 Cardiff 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Leeds 0 0 0 0 0 1— 1— 
			 Liverpool 0 0 0 0 1— 5 7 
			 Newcastle 0 0 0 1— 1— 1— 1— 
			 Sutton 0 0 0 0 0 1— 1— 
			 1 Denotes fewer than five. HMCTS does not publish statistics involving fewer than five cases as there is a risk in those circumstances that individuals could be identified.

TREASURY

Air Passenger Duty

Henry Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of how much air passenger duty revenue is lost annually as a result of passengers multi-ticketing via foreign hub airports; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how much air passenger duty revenue he expects will not accrue to the Exchequer in 2013-14 as a result of multi-ticketing via foreign hubs; and if he will make a statement.

Nicky Morgan: Air passenger duty is calculated on a passenger's final destination. The liability of a journey from the UK will be the same whether the journey is made by using a single, direct flight from the UK, or by using two or more connected flights through foreign hub airports.
	A journey using separate unconnected tickets has practical and financial implications including no protection on the cost of missed connections. Data are not held on the number of UK passenger journeys to foreign hub airports that may be part of a longer journey using unconnected tickets.

Empty Property

Hilary Benn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the empty property business rates for the vacant properties recorded on the e-PIMS database owned by (a) his Department and (b) any executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies of his Department in the current financial year.

Nicky Morgan: As HM Treasury has no vacant properties recorded on the e-PIMS database, the Department has therefore made no estimates for empty property business rates.

Minimum Wage: Northern Ireland

William McCrea: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many fines have been imposed to employers in Northern Ireland since 2012 for not paying the national minimum wage.

David Gauke: The Government take the enforcement of NMW very seriously and HMRC enforce the national minimum wage legislation on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). It does that by investigating all complaints made about employers suspected of not paying the minimum wage, in addition carrying out targeted enforcement where it identifies a high risk of non-payment of NMW across the whole of the UK.
	Prior to 6 April 2009, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) issued penalty notices to those employers who failed to comply, within 28 days, with an enforcement notice. A new enforcement regime, introduced in April 2009, saw the introduction of automatic penalties for employers who are found to have underpaid their workers.
	The number and value of penalties issued to Northern Ireland employers in the financial year 2012-13 is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  Number Value (£) 
			 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013 28 38,357

Tax Evasion: Fuels

William McCrea: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the loss of tax revenue arising from fuel laundering across the land border with the Republic of Ireland;
	(2)  how many prosecutions have been brought forward against those dealing in illegal fuel laundering in the last five years.

Nicky Morgan: No assessment has been made of the loss of revenue purely as a result of fuel laundering across the border with Ireland. However, tax gap figures published in the document at the following link estimates the market share for all illicit diesel in Northern Ireland at 12-13% in 2011-12. Petrol fraud is negligible.
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/tax-gaps/mtg-2013.pdf
	The following table shows the number of individuals prosecuted for fuel fraud offences in Northern Ireland where this information is held up to 2010-11 the information collected recorded the number of prosecution cases—which could be against more than one individual, and is incomplete. In addition, it is not possible to split out those prosecuted solely for fuel laundering.
	
		
			  Northern Ireland GB 
			 2009-10 1— 1— 
			 2010-11 1— 1— 
			 2011-12 14 2 
			 2012-13 7 4 
			 2013-142 3 0 
			 1 Not available. 2 To end of February 2014. 
		
	
	HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) fights fraud on a wide range of fronts, from special units performing thousands of roadside checks to raiding laundering plants. The UK has recently announced, jointly with Ireland, an improved new marker for rebated fuel, which will make it much harder to launder marked fuel and sell it at a profit.

Tobacco: Smuggling

William McCrea: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the loss of revenue arising from cigarette smuggling across the land border with the Republic of Ireland.

Nicky Morgan: The information requested is not available.
	Estimates of total revenue losses associated with the cigarette illicit market for the UK are published in “Tobacco Tax Gap estimates: 2012-13”. These estimates cannot be disaggregated by country or by the type of illicit activity e.g. through smuggling, counterfeiting or other fraud.
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/tax-gaps/ttg-2013.pdf

EDUCATION

Academies

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what contact his Department has had with the largest 10 academy chains to confirm whether they plan to make an application for a free school in the next (a) year, (b) two years and (c) three years.

Edward Timpson: The Department for Education has not asked academy chains to confirm whether they plan to make any applications for a free school in the next year, two years or three years.

Adoption: Norfolk

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  how many children were put up for adoption by Norfolk County Council social services against the wishes of their birth family in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  how many applications to foster or adopt were made by relatives of the child's parents in (a) North West Norfolk constituency, (b) Norfolk and (c) the UK in each of the last 10 years; and how many such applications were successful in each area and in each year.

Edward Timpson: Information on looked-after children for whom the local authority has made the decision that the child should be placed for adoption and the number of children who were placed for adoption at 31 March by Norfolk county council social services without the consent of their parent or guardian can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption
	The Department for Education started collecting information on children placed for adoption broken down by parental consent from local authorities in England in 2007; therefore, information prior to this period is not available. Information on children for whom the local authority has made the decision that they should be placed for adoption is only available from 2009.
	The Department does not collect information on applications to foster or adopt. However, Ofsted collect a range of information on the numbers and profile of foster carers and foster places and placements, in both local authority and independent services, through their annual collection of data relating to adoption services. 2013 Ofsted data can be found at:
	http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/fostering-quality-assurance-and-data-forms-2012-13-first-statistical-release

Children: Diabetes

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance his Department gives to teachers and teaching support staff on supporting children with type one diabetes.

Edward Timpson: Non-statutory guidance, “Managing Medicines in Schools and Early Years Settings”, is available to schools to help them manage medicines and support children with medical needs.
	From September 2014, there will be a new duty, (introduced in the Children and Families Act 2014), on governing bodies of maintained schools (and proprietors of academies) to make arrangements to support pupils at school with medical conditions and to have regard to statutory guidance. The guidance (upon which we have consulted publicly) will set out the requirements on schools to support children with medical conditions, which we would expect them to apply to conditions such as diabetes.

Children: Diabetes

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what training schemes his Department has in place to enable teachers to support children who have type one diabetes.

Edward Timpson: The training of school staff to support pupils with medical conditions is a matter for schools. However, the Department for Education fully expects them to be aware of and understand the needs of pupils with medical conditions such as diabetes, and to put arrangements in place to provide effective support. This should include ensuring that school staff receive suitable training.
	From September 2014, there will be a new duty, (introduced in the Children and Families Act 2014), on governing bodies of maintained schools (and proprietors of academies) to make arrangements to support pupils at school with medical conditions and to have regard to statutory guidance. The guidance (upon which we have consulted publicly) will set out the requirements on schools to support children with medical conditions, which we would expect them to apply to conditions such as diabetes. The guidance will set out expectations in respect of staff training.

Education: Greater Manchester

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils in (a) Denton and Reddish constituency, (b) Stockport metropolitan borough and (c) Tameside metropolitan borough council continued into (i) further education, (ii) higher education and (ii) apprenticeships in the last five years for which figures are available.

Matthew Hancock: Destination Measures data, following key stage 4 and key stage 5, are published at local authority level for the years 2009/10 and 2010/11. Parliamentary constituency level data are published for 2010/11 only. The requested data, for the available years, are shown in the tables. The information is taken from Statistical First Release data, which are available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-destinations
	
		
			 Destination measures for key stage 4 and key stage 5, 2009/10 and 2010/11 
			 Local authority level 
			 Key stage 4 Percentage going into a sustained1 destination 
			 Cohort2 year Destination3 year Local authority Number of students4 School sixth form Further education5 Of which: apprenticeships6 Higher education7 
			 2008/09 2009/10 Stockport 3,000 5 78 6 0 
			   Tameside 2,940 7 75 7 0 
			         
			 2009/10 2010/11 Stockport 2,970 4 81 9 0 
			   Tameside 2,880 8 76 8 x 
		
	
	
		
			 Key stage 5 Percentage going into a sustained1 destination 
			 Cohort8 year Destination9 year Local authority Number of students4 School sixth form Further education5 Of which: apprenticeships6 Higher education7 
			 2008/09 2009/10 Stockport 2,060 x 11 3 56 
			   Tameside 1,250 0 8 2 54 
			         
			 2009/10 2010/11 Stockport 2,130 — 11 5 53 
			   Tameside 1,380 — 11 5 49 
		
	
	
		
			 Parliamentary constituency level 
			 Key stage 4 Percentage going into a sustained1 destination 
			 Cohort2 year Destination3 year Parliamentary constituency Number of students4 School sixth form Further education5 Of which: apprenticeships6 Higher education7 
			 2009/10 2010/11 Denton and Reddish 1,240 12 72 9 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Key stage 5 Percentage going into a sustained1 destination 
			 Cohort8 year Destination9 year Parliamentary constituency Number of students4 School sixth form Further education5 Of which: apprenticeships6 Higher education7 
			 2009/10 2010/11 Denton and Reddish 170 2 3 3 73 
			 “x” means the value is suppressed due to small numbers. “—” means the percentage is less than 0.5% but greater than 0% 1 Sustained participation for the first two terms, October to March. 2 All students who are in state-funded mainstream schools and are at the end of key stage 4 and compulsory schooling. 3 The year following the end of key stage 4. 4 Number of students in the cohort for the stated year and key stage rounded to the nearest 10. 5 Further education includes further education colleges, sixth-form colleges and other further education providers. 6 All apprenticeships are also reported in the school sixth form and further education columns. Apprenticeships are identified where any qualifying learning has occurred at any time during the October to March participation period. 7 Higher education includes students at higher education institutions or undertaking higher education provision at a further education college. 8 All students who entered an A level or other level 3 qualification. This includes all level 3 qualifications i.e. general or applied A levels, AS examinations or other level 3 qualifications. These students are mostly academic age 17. There is also a number of students of academic age 16 and 18 in the cohort. 9 The year following Key Stage 5. Source: National Pupil Database.

Education: Yorkshire and the Humber

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) Yorkshire and Humber continued into (i) further education, (ii) higher education and (iii) apprenticeships in the last five years for which figures are available.

Matthew Hancock: Destination Measures data, following key stage 4 and key stage 5, are published at local authority level for the years 2009/10 and 2010/11. Parliamentary constituency level data are published for 2010/11 only.
	The requested data, for the available years, are shown in the tables.
	The information is taken from Statistical First Release data, which are available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-destinations
	
		
			 Destination measures for key stage 4 and key stage 5, 2009/10 and 2010/11 
			 Regional level 
			 Key stage 4 Percentage going into a sustained1 destination 
			 Cohort2 year Destination3 year Region Number of students4 School sixth form Further education5 Of which: apprenticeships6 Higher education7 
			 2008/09 2009/10 Yorkshire and Humber 59,960 32 50 6 x 
			 2009/10 2010/11 Yorkshire and Humber 59,400 33 50 7 — 
		
	
	
		
			 Key stage 5 Percentage going into a sustained1 destination 
			 Cohort8 year Destination9 year Region Number of students4 School sixth form Further education5 Of which: apprenticeships6 Higher education7 
			 2008/09 2009/10 Yorkshire and Humber 29,740 1 11 3 53 
			 2009/10 2010/11 Yorkshire and Humber 33,110 2 12 4 49 
		
	
	
		
			 Parliamentary constituency level 
			 Key stage 4 Percentage going into a sustained1 destination 
			 Cohort2 year Destination3 year Parliamentary constituency Number of students4 School sixth form Further education5 Of which: apprenticeships6 Higher education7 
			 2009/10 2010/11 Brigg and Goole 1,060 9 77 6 0 
		
	
	
		
			 Key stage 5 Percentage going into a sustained1 destination 
			 Cohort8 year Destination9 year Parliamentary constituency Number of students4 School sixth form Further education5 Of which: apprenticeships6 Higher education7 
			 2009/10 2010/11 Brigg and Goole 80 19 9 4 42 
			 “x” means the value is suppressed due to small numbers. “—” means the percentage is less than 0.5% but greater than 0% 1 Sustained participation for the first two terms, October to March. 2 All students who are in state-funded mainstream schools and are at the end of key stage 4 and compulsory schooling. 3 The year following the end of key stage 4. 4 Number of students in the cohort for the stated year and key stage rounded to the nearest 10. 5 Further education includes further education colleges, sixth-form colleges and other further education providers. 6 All apprenticeships are also reported in the school sixth form and further education columns. Apprenticeships are identified where any qualifying learning has occurred at any time during the October to March participation period. 7 Higher education includes students at higher education institutions or undertaking higher education provision at a further education college. 8 All students who entered an A level or other level 3 qualification. This includes all level 3 qualifications i.e. general or applied A levels, AS examinations or other level 3 qualifications. These students are mostly academic age 17. There is also a number of students of academic age 16 and 18 in the cohort. 9 The year following Key Stage 5. Source: National Pupil Database.

Faith Schools

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department has carried out any form of assessment of the number of state-funded schools where religious items or articles of clothing form part of the school's (a) pupil and (b) staff uniform policy.

David Laws: The Department for Education has not conducted any assessment of the number of state-funded schools where religious items or clothing form part of the uniform policy for pupils or staff.
	It is for the governing body of each school to decide whether pupils should wear a uniform, and if so, what that should be. We do, however, expect schools to have full regard to their responsibilities under equalities law, and to act sensibly, fairly and flexibly in the interests of all their students in setting their school uniform policy.
	Any dress code for school staff is an issue for the employer, whether that is the governing body or the local authority. As part of the general terms and conditions of employment agreed with employees, employers should consider an appropriate dress code, relevant to the individual setting, taking into account the requirements of the post and having proper regard to equality and diversity considerations.
	School uniform guidance can be found at:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform

Free School Meals: Lancashire

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children in (a) Pendle constituency and (b) Lancashire were eligible for but did not claim free school meals in the latest period for which figures are available.

David Laws: The Department for Education routinely collects information on pupils who are both eligible for and claiming free school meals. This information is published in the “Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics, January 2013” Statistical First Release1. Information on the number of pupils who are eligible for free school meals but do not claim them is not collected by the Department.
	The Department has published a research paper “Pupils not claiming free school meals: 2013”2 which presents estimates of the numbers and proportions of pupils who are entitled to receive free school meals but are not claiming. The paper compares registration rates for children aged between 4 and 15 and highlights regions and local authorities where under-registration rates are high. Figures from this paper show the under-registration rate for Lancashire local authority is 6% compared with an England average of 11%.
	1 Available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-pupils-and-their-characteristics-january-2013
	2 Available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupils-not-claiming-free-school-meals-2013

Free Schools

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many representations he has received from local authorities indicating that the local authority does not require a proposed free school; and whether this has led to any proposed free school applications being withdrawn.

Edward Timpson: The Department for Education does not hold this information centrally and collecting it would incur disproportionate cost.
	Under section 9 of the Academies Act 2010, the Department writes to local authorities where a free school is being proposed to seek their views on the impact that establishing the school would likely have on existing schools and colleges.
	Local authorities often take this opportunity to indicate whether they support or oppose the establishment of a free school.
	Any representations from local authorities are considered by the Secretary of State for Education, the right hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), before he decides to enter into a funding agreement with the relevant academy trust.

Free Schools

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of free schools approved to date are faith schools.

Edward Timpson: 37 of 142 open mainstream free schools have a faith designation (26%); this compares to 34% of all state-funded mainstream schools.

Free Schools

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of faith free schools opened to date have met the 50% target of children and young people attending the school who do not belong to that faith.

Edward Timpson: There is no target for the proportion of children attending a free school who do not belong to the designated faith of such a school. When over-subscribed, faith designated free schools may take account of faith in allocating up to 50% of their places. The remaining places must be allocated on the basis of over-subscription criteria not related to faith, and may be filled by pupils of the faith, other faiths or none.

GCSE

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of (a) converter academies and (b) maintained schools achieved a higher percentage of students achieving five GCSE A* to C grades including English and mathematics than the previous year in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13.

David Laws: The requested information is published in the 2012/13 performance tables1.
	1 Available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/download_data.html

GCSE

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of (a) converter academies and (b) maintained schools achieved a lower percentage of students achieving five GCSE A* to C grades including English and mathematics than the previous year in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13.

David Laws: The requested information is published in the 2012/13 performance tables1.
	1 Available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/download_data.html

GCSE

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of (a) converter academies and (b) maintained schools achieved a higher percentage of students achieving five GCSE A* to C grades than the previous year in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13.

David Laws: The requested information is publicly available in the 2010/111, 2011/122 and 2012/133 performance tables.
	1 Available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/download_data.html
	2 Available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/2012/download_data.html
	3 Available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/2011/download_data.html

GCSE

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of (a) converter academies and (b) maintained schools achieved a lower percentage of students achieving five GCSE A* to C grades than the previous year in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13.

David Laws: The requested information is publicly available in the 2010/111, 2011/122 and 2012/133 performance tables.
	1 Available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/download_data.html
	2 Available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/2012/download_data.html
	3 Available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/2011/download_data.html

Grant Maintained Schools

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 13 February 2014, Official Report, column 816W, on community schools, how many maintained schools his Department believes to be underperforming.

David Laws: Of the 4,125 maintained mainstream secondary schools, 154 were classified as underperforming in the 2012/13 academic year. Of the 15,351 maintained mainstream primary schools, 767 were classified as underperforming in the 2012/13 academic year.

Headteachers

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of maintained schools have changed their head teacher since September 2011.

David Laws: The information requested is not held centrally.

Headteachers

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of maintained schools that have opened since September 2011 have changed their head teacher since that date.

David Laws: The information requested is not held centrally.

Headteachers

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of state-funded schools have changed their head teacher since September 2011.

David Laws: The information requested is not held centrally.

Headteachers

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of free schools have changed their head teacher since opening.

Edward Timpson: The information requested is not held centrally.

Headteachers

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of state-funded schools that have opened since September 2011 have changed their head teacher since opening.

David Laws: The information requested is not held centrally.

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what education funding per pupil was in (a) Staffordshire and (b) Brent in each year since 2009-10.

David Laws: The total per pupil revenue funding figures for financial years 2009-10 to 2012-13 for Staffordshire and Brent are provided in the following table. The figures are for all funded pupils aged three to 15 and are in cash terms:
	
		
			 Average revenue per pupil funding 
			 Dedicated schools grant (DSG) + grants cash (£) 
			  2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Staffordshire 4,460 4,720 4,650 4,650 
			 Brent 5,990 6,280 6,240 6,240 
			 Notes: 1. For financial years 2009 to 2011 this covers funding through the dedicated schools grant, school standards grant, school standards grant (personalisation) and standards fund; it excludes grants which are not allocated at local authority level. 2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest £10. 3. In financial year 2011 to 2012, most separate grants were mainstreamed in to the DSG. The exceptions were grants that were time-limited and planned to end in financial year 2010 to 2011. 4. Figures do not include pupil premium. Details of which are shown separately. 5.The DSG plus grants figures for financial years 2009-10 to 2010-11 do not include funding from the Young People's Learning Agency to ensure that figures are on the basis of funding for pupils aged three to 15 and are comparable with figures for financial years 2011-12 to 2012-13. Sources: 1. http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20131216163513/http:/www.education .gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schoolsrevenuefunding 2. http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20131216163513/http://www.education .gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schoolsrevenuefunding/archive/a0014213/dedicated-schools-grant-allocations-for-2008-11 
		
	
	The DSG plus grants figures for financial years 2009-10 to 2010-11 do not include funding from the Young People's Learning Agency to ensure that figures are on the basis of funding for pupils aged three to 15 and are comparable with figures for financial years 2011-12 to 2012-13.
	In financial year 2013-14, the DSG was reformed to allocate funding to local authorities in three blocks (schools, early years and high needs) and so figures are not comparable to previous years. The schools block per pupil unit of funding (SBUF), which does not cover funding for early years or high needs, was £4,310 for Staffordshire and £5,066 for Brent. The early years block per pupil units of funding in 2013-14 were £3,515 for Staffordshire and £5,930 for Brent. In 2013-14, high needs funding was no longer allocated on a per-pupil basis. However total high needs block funding for the year was £57.483 million for Staffordshire and £53.7 million for Brent.
	In addition, since financial year 2011-12 schools have received pupil premium per qualifying pupil, which targets funding at pupils from the most deprived backgrounds to help them achieve their full potential. In 2012-13, coverage was expanded to include pupils known to have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years. The amounts per pupil for each type of pupil are shown in the following table in cash terms:
	
		
			 Pupil premium per pupil 
			 £ 
			  2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 
			 Free school meal secondary pupils and looked-after children 488 623 900 
			 Free school meal primary pupil 488 623 953 
			 Service children 200 250 300

School Information (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2012

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the implementation of the School Information (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2012. [R]

David Laws: Ofsted routinely checks school websites before inspections. If a parent, or other party, believes that a school is not complying with the requirements, they are entitled to raise this with the governing body. If their complaint is not resolved and they believe that the school has failed to discharge its duty or acted unreasonably, they can raise their complaint with the Secretary of State.

Schools: Inspections

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of (a) converter academies and (b) maintained schools received a (i) higher and (ii) lower Ofsted inspection result than they had received in their previous inspections in (A) 2010-11, (B) 2011-12 and (C) 2012-13.

Edward Timpson: In January this year, the Department for Education published an analysis of Ofsted inspection outcomes for converter academies and maintained schools in the report “Performance of converter academies in 2012 to2013”1. It showed that in 2012/13 converter academies previously rated as either “good” or “satisfactory” were more likely to improve their rating than local authority (LA) maintained mainstream schools, and also showed converter academies previously rated as “outstanding” were more likely to retain that rating than LA maintained mainstream schools.
	1 Available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/performance-of-converter-academies-in-2012-to-2013

Students: Personal Records

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what his policy is on students' personal information being (a) sold to the private sector for means of advertising and (b) used to improve electoral registration of students.

David Willetts: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	In line with the Data Protection Act 1998, organisations collecting data from individuals should inform people, at the point of collection, how their personal data will be used, who it might be shared with and for what purpose(s).
	Data can only be shared and used for the purposes notified and the individual should be able to request that their information is not shared with third parties.

Teachers: Training

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which contractors will be responsible for the professional skills test for initial teacher training entrants for the 2014-15 academic year.

David Laws: No contract has been agreed with any contractor as yet. The Department for Education is in the process of negotiating a contract through a framework agreement. Once a contract has been signed we will make public the identity of the contractor.

Teachers: Training

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what further information he will give to initial teacher training providers about candidates who were incorrectly notified that they had failed the professional skills test.

David Laws: The pprofessional skills test results database has been updated to reflect the change in outcome for those candidates who were incorrectly notified that they had failed their skills test. Initial Teacher Training (ITT) providers have access to this database.
	Any candidate affected in this way was instructed to contact the Standards and Testing Agency (STA) if they wanted to discuss their options.
	The STA have also written to all providers of ITT courses to inform them of the issue.

Teachers: Training

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to offer compensation to initial teacher training applicants who have been wrongly advised that they failed the professional skills test and denied the opportunity to train as teachers.

David Laws: The Standards and Testing Agency (STA) has written to candidates who were incorrectly notified that they had failed the professional skills tests and provided a helpline number to contact should they wish to discuss their options or seek support.

Teachers: Training

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools in Brigg and Goole constituency participate in the Schools Direct programme.

David Laws: Our records show that there are no School Direct lead schools located in the parliamentary constituency of Brigg and Goole.
	However, many School Direct lead schools work in partnership with other schools to deliver the programme.

Teachers: Veterans

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of initial teacher trainees were service leavers in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10, (c) 2010-11, (d) 2011-12, (e) 2012-13 and (f) the current academic year to date.

David Laws: The Department for Education does not hold this information prior to March 2011. Between 2010 and 2012/13, 0.12% of initial teacher training (ITT) trainees declared themselves as having an armed forces background. ITT census information and performance profiles can be found online at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/careers/training anddevelopment/initial/b00204146/itt-data-and-surveys/trainee-census
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-training-performance-profiles-2013-for-the-academic-year-2011-to-2012
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/initial-teacher-training-trainee-number-census

CABINET OFFICE

Average Earnings: Clwyd

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what change there has been in median gross weekly earnings for (a) men and (b) women in Vale of Clwyd constituency since 2010.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated March 2014
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what change there has been in median gross weekly earnings for (a) men and (b) women in Vale of Clwyd constituency since 2010. (192077).
	The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. Weekly levels of earnings are estimated from ASHE, and are provided for employees on adult rates of pay, whose earnings for the survey pay period were not affected by absence. Figures relate to employee jobs, which are defined as those held by employees and not the self-employed.
	The following table shows estimates of median gross weekly earnings for employees in Vale of Clwyd constituency from 2010 to 2013, the latest period for which results are available. Figures are provided for male employees and female employees.
	In order to account for a discontinuity in the series in 2011, percentage changes between 2010 and 2013 were calculated by compounding growth rates between individual years. Consequently, the percentage changes shown in the table do not correspond precisely to the actual percentage differences between the 2010 and 2013 earnings estimates.
	
		
			 Median gross weekly earnings for employees1 in Vale of Clwyd constituency between April 2010 and April 2013 
			 Year (April) Male Female 
			 2010 **427.2 **306.9 
			 20112, 4 **436.1 *361.2 
			 20113, 4 **426.1 *359.7 
			 2012 **448.0 **330.9 
			 2013 **476.7 **371.8 
			    
			 Percentage change   
			 2010 to 20135 14.2 21.7 
			 1 Employee jobs are defined as those held by employees and not the self-employed. Figures relate to employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence. ASHE Is based on a 1 per cent sample of jobs taken from HM Revenue and Customs’ Pay As You Earn (PAYE) records. Consequently, individuals with more than one job may appear in the sample more than once. 2 2011 results based on Standard Occupational Classification 2000. 3 2011 results based on Standard Occupational Classification 2010. 4 Estimates for years prior to 2011 are based on SOC 2000 and estimates for years after 2011 are based on SOC 2010. Figures are only considered to be directly comparable If they are based on the same SOC. 5 In order to account for the series discontinuity, percentage changes between 2010 and 2013 were calculated by compounding growth rates between individual years. Consequently, the percentage changes shown in the table do not correspond precisely to the actual percentage differences between 1he 2010 and 2013 earnings estimates. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of a figure; the smaller the CV value, the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an average of 200 with a CV of 5% ,we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * CV >5% and = 10% ** CV > 10% and = 20% CV = Coefficient of Variation Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), Office for National Statistics.

Jobseeker’s Allowance: Scotland

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people and what proportion of the working age population have been in receipt of jobseeker's allowance for over (a) two and (b) five years in (i) Scotland and (ii) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated March 2014
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people and what proportion of the working age population have been in receipt of jobseekers' allowance for over (a) two and (b) five years in (i) Scotland and (ii) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency. (192483)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles data on the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance from the Jobcentre Plus Administrative System.
	The table shows the number of people and proportion of the population aged 16 to 64 years who had been claiming Jobseeker's Allowance over two, two to five and over five years in February 2014, resident in the requested geographies.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Number1 and proportion of people aged 16 to 64 years claiming jobseeker's allowance, February 2014, not seasonally adjusted 
			  Kilmarnock and Loudoun Scotland 
			  Number Proportion (percentage) Number Proportion (percentage) 
			 2 to 5 years 525 0.9 15,990 0.5 
			 Over 5 years 20 0.0 1,110 0.0 
			 Over 2 years 545 0.9 17,100 0.5 
			 1 Rounded to nearest rounded 5. Totals may not equal the sum of the independently rounded components. Source: JobcentrePlus Administrative System

Nurseries

Lucy Powell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of workplace nurseries available to staff in (a) his Department and (b) his Department's executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies in (i) 2010, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15.

Francis Maude: The Government's child care offer will provide flexible support for all eligible working families while maintaining a free, universal early education support. Alongside this, the Government are also taking action to drive up the supply of high quality child care provision and to open up more choice for parents.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Washington and Sunderland West on 3 March 2014, Official Report, column 664W.

Prostate Cancer

Paul Burstow: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 28 February 2014, Official Report, column 587W, on prostate cancer, what the standardised mortality rate from prostate cancer was in each parliamentary constituency in the latest year for which figures are available.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the standardised mortality rate from prostate cancer was in each parliamentary constituency in the latest year for which figures are available.
	Table 1 provides the age standardised mortality rate where prostate cancer was the underlying cause of death, for each parliamentary constituency in England and Wales, for deaths registered in 2012 (the latest year available).
	A copy of Table 1 has been placed in the Library of the House.

HEALTH

Abortion

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Salisbury of 28 February 2014, Official Report, column 569W, on abortion, what process the Chief Medical Officer follows to detect discrepancies in abortion notifications; and what resources the Chief Medical Officer has for that task.

Jane Ellison: Departmental officials inspect and record the information received on the HSA4 abortion notification form, carry out validation checks and return forms to practitioners for additional information as necessary. Additionally, selected forms are scrutinised by a departmental medical practitioner who may request further detail from the patients' medical records via the terminating doctor. Information about checks made by the Department is contained in the publication “Department of Health checks made on HSA4 forms for data quality and monitoring the Abortion Act”, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.
	During 2013-14, there were five people involved full-time in processing and validating the abortion notification forms sent to the Chief Medical Officer.

Congenital Abnormalities

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many ground E abortions for spina bifida were diagnosed by (a) ultrasound and (b) other diagnostic tests in each of the last 10 years; what other methods of diagnosis were listed under other; and how many such diagnoses which did not result in abortion were recorded in the same period;
	(2)  how many ground E abortions for anencephaly were diagnosed by (a) ultrasound and (b) other diagnostic tests in each of the last 10 years; what other methods of diagnosis were listed under other; and how many such diagnoses which did not result in abortion were recorded in the same period.

Jane Ellison: This information cannot be provided.

Congenital Abnormalities

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many cases leading to ground E abortions of club foot were diagnosed by (a) ultrasound and (b) other diagnostic tests in each of the last 10 years; what those other methods of diagnosis were; and how many such diagnoses which did not result in abortion were recorded in that period;
	(2)  how many cases leading to ground E abortions of congenital malformations of the musculoskeletal system were diagnosed by (a) ultrasound and (b) other diagnostic tests in each of the last 10 years; what those other methods of diagnosis were; and how many such diagnoses which did not result in abortion were recorded in that period;
	(3)  how many cases leading to ground E abortions of cleft lip were diagnosed by (a) ultrasound and (b) other diagnostic tests in each of the last 10 years; what those other methods of diagnosis were; and how many such diagnoses which did not result in abortion were recorded in that period.

Jane Ellison: This information cannot be provided.

Diabetes: Children

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children of (a) pre-school, (b) primary school and (c) secondary school age were diagnosed with type one diabetes in each of the last 10 years.

Jane Ellison: The Department does not collect information centrally on the number of children with type 1 diabetes.
	The majority of children with diabetes have their disease managed through specialist paediatric diabetes services.

Diabetes: Children

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children have presented at accident and emergency departments direct from school requiring treatment for type one diabetes-related problems in the last year.

Jane Ellison: The following table shows a count of accident and emergency (A&E) attendances excluding planned attendances for children aged 0 to 17 with a diagnosis of “diabetes and other endocrinological conditions”.
	We cannot distinguish between type 1 and type 2 diabetes in A&E data and the data may contain records of other endocrinological conditions.
	It should be noted that A&E attendances do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one attendance within the year.
	Reference should be made to the notes when interpreting the data.
	
		
			 Activity in English national health service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			 Incident location type Number of attendances 
			 Educational establishment 105 
			 Notes: 1. Accident and Emergency Hospital Episode Statistics (A&E HES) are compiled from data submitted by more than 160 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. 2. A&E attendances in HES relates to the number of recorded attendances. A&E attendances do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one attendance within the year. 3. HES is not the official source of total A&E activity; this is the NHS England situation reports collection: www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/ However, HES permits further analysis of A&E activity as there are a range of data items by which HES can be analysed. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Health Professions: Regulation

Stephen Gilbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many healthcare professionals in the NHS are not regulated by statutory regulation.

Daniel Poulter: The information requested is not available centrally.

Health: Equality

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress his Department has made on implementing the recommendations of the Marmot Review on health inequalities in England.

Jane Ellison: We accepted the findings of “Fair Society, Healthy Lives - the strategic review of health inequalities in England post 2010” (the Marmot Review) in the public health “Healthy Lives, Healthy People” (2010).
	The review identified a social gradient in health—where the lower a person's position, the worse his or her health. Action, it said, should focus on reducing the gradient—and be proportionate to the level of disadvantage. We have adopted this approach. For example, in our maternal and child health programmes by increasing by 50% the number of health visitors by 2015, and more than doubling the number of places on the Family Nurse Partnership programme, which supports vulnerable first-time mothers.
	We also helped establish and sponsor the UCL Institute of Health Equity—led by Professor Sir Michael Marmot. The Institute is continuing to develop the evidence on health inequalities, promote good practice and support policy development to help deliver this agenda.
	We are putting health inequalities—and the poor health outcomes that result—at the heart of everything we do across the health system, working with Public Health England and NHS England, and backed it by new legal health inequalities duties.

Health: Equality

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that the recommendations of the Marmot Review on health inequalities in England are being implemented across all relevant Government Departments.

Jane Ellison: We accepted the findings of “Fair Society, Healthy Lives - the strategic review of health inequalities in England post 2010” (the Marmot Review) in the public health white paper “Healthy Lives, Healthy People” (2010). These findings apply across all Government Departments; given the link between social circumstances, health and health inequalities.
	We have used the review—and the priorities it identified —to support our work with colleagues across government to reinvigorate action on child poverty; raise educational attainment; support families; improve social mobility and promote work as a route out of poverty. These steps will help people take control over their own lives, fulfil their potential and reduce health inequalities.
	We sponsor and fund the UCL Institute of Health Equity—led by Professor Sir Michael Marmot—to build the evidence on health inequalities and support government and local systems implement the review's findings.

Medical Records: Databases

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether commercial re-use licences for hospital episode statistics and other medical information gathered from NHS patients remain in operation.

Daniel Poulter: The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) have confirmed that some re-use agreements do remain in place, for specific organisations in relation to approved purposes. The purpose of each application is carefully considered by HSCIC before it is agreed, including its benefit to the health and care system.

Mental Health Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will commission a national survey of investment in mental health services in 2013-14;
	(2)  when he plans to publish data on mental health spending in 2012-13;
	(3)  what progress he has made on extending patient choice of provider of mental health services.

Norman Lamb: The Department has no plans to commission a national survey of investment in mental health services for 2013-14. The Department stopped commissioning the national surveys of investment in mental health services in 2012 as the new landscape for health services and the abolition of primary care trusts and strategic health authorities prevented continuation of these surveys in their existing format. The Department is committed to reducing the data burden placed on organisations and has no plans to commission any further surveys of this type.
	NHS England published expenditure data for 2012-13 on 21 February 2014 which shows expenditure on mental health in 2012-13 was £11.28 billion. This information is available on their website at:
	www.england.nhs.uk/resources/resources-for-ccgs/prog-budgeting/
	and the document has been placed in the Library.
	Ensuring patients have more say in how their care is delivered and embedding choice are key themes in the Health and Social Care Act 2012 to ensure we put the patient first and drive improvements in quality. As part of this, “No decision about me, without me” (2012) set out the Government's intention to extend choice to mental health.
	The National Health Service Commissioning Board and Clinical Commissioning Groups (Responsibilities and Standing Rules) (Amendment) Regulations 2013 were published in November 2013 to extend the legal right to choice of provider at first out-patient appointment in mental health from 1 April 2014.
	Extending choice to mental health from April is also a priority in “Closing the Gap: Priorities for essential change in mental health” (2014), to enable patients to choose which provider and consultant or mental health professional will be in charge of their care for their first out-patient appointment. The “NHS Mandate 2014/15” commits NHS England to ensure patients' rights to choice are embedded by 2015.
	We held the third Choice in Mental Health workshop on 12 March 2014 where we set out the critical steps required to start implementing choice from 1 April 2014 and the programme of work to deliver the NHS Mandate commitment to embed choice in mental health by 2015.

Mental Health: Northern Ireland

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on mental health issues in each of the last four years;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on suicide prevention in Northern Ireland.

Norman Lamb: Ministers in the Department of Health have not corresponded with those at the Northern Ireland Executive to discuss mental health issues in the past four years.
	However, officials liaise regularly with colleagues in Northern Ireland over transfers of patients who are detained under our respective mental health legislation. They also have discussions where judicial reviews or other issues may have implications for each other's legislation. In the past four years none of the issues raised has required inter-ministerial correspondence.
	Suicide prevention is a devolved matter. No discussions have taken place between Ministers at the Department and the Northern Ireland Executive about suicide prevention in Northern Ireland.
	However, officials within the Department have had contact with officials in Northern Ireland so that they can work collaboratively on the issue where appropriate.

NHS England

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who authorised the continuing payment of the salary of the national director for human resources, Jo-Anne Wass of NHS England during her secondment to the University of Leeds.

Jane Ellison: It is for NHS England to authorise the terms of any secondment and the associated remuneration arrangements.
	NHS England has advised that the secondment arrangements for Jo-Anne Wass were agreed by its remuneration committee, as would be the case for any very senior staff secondment.

NHS: Innovation

Heather Wheeler: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients NHS England plans to fund for treatment for each of the technologies within its Commissioning through Evaluation programme in the year beginning April 2014;

Jane Ellison: There are a number of technologies which will be covered in the Commissioning through Evaluation scheme (CtE) in the year beginning April 2014.
	NHS England's CtE scheme for Selective Internal Radiation Therapy went live in 2013 and will provide treatment for around 220 patients per year.
	Three new interventional cardiology CtE schemes are due to go live in the next few weeks and are expected to treat around 1,000 patients in a full year.
	The Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy CtE scheme, also due to go live shortly, will provide around 100 operations in a full year.

NHS: Innovation

Heather Wheeler: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to promote innovation in specialised services following the indefinite suspension of the Specialised Services Commissioning Innovation Fund; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: From April 2013, it became the responsibility of NHS England to directly commission specialised and highly specialised services.
	NHS England has a unique opportunity to promote innovative specialised care as part of its direct commissioning responsibilities, and is working with around 1,700 clinical leaders and patient representatives across the country as part of the clinical reference group structure to identify, test and prioritise improvements to patient care, outcomes and experience.
	Examples of this include NHS England's novel Commissioning through Evaluation programme, partnership working with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the National Institute for Healthcare Research to identify research and evaluation priorities and undertake early consideration of new evidence, the development of quality dashboards, and the opportunity for stakeholders to propose service changes as part of our wider strategy development.
	Agreed innovations can now be more consistently and promptly rolled out across the country as part of consistent national service specifications and policies, and form part of the contracts with all commissioned providers.

Sleep Apnoea

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to ensure that GPs are aware of the warning signs of obstructive sleep apnoea and are screening for that condition using (a) the Epworth sleepiness test and (b) other recognised tests.

Jane Ellison: NHS England is committed to working with partners across the health system to reduce mortality and improve outcomes for people with respiratory disease.
	Local clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning services for patients with obstructive sleep apnoea. Management of the condition is governed by clinical guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and NHS England would expect clinical commissioning groups to ensure that services are available to patients in line with these national guidelines and the needs of their local populations.
	General practitioners (GPs) have to demonstrate that they are actively maintaining their skills through continual professional development and are aware of new clinical guidelines which are regularly published by NICE and disseminated to GPs.

Trade Union Officials

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding his Department provided for staff to carry out trade union activities in each of the last three years; and how many days staff spent on those activities in those years.

Daniel Poulter: The Department and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) operate a joint trade union facility time agreement. Details of the funding that the Department has allocated centrally for trade union activity for the last three years can be found in the following table.
	
		
			 Financial year Funding for departmental trade union activities (£) 
			 2011-12 265,859 
			 2012-13 275,280 
			 2013-14 228,850 
		
	
	Information on the number of days accredited trade union representatives carry out trade union activities is not collected centrally. The Department and the MHRA currently share trade union facility time of a small number of staff elected by trade unions whose work time is fully allocated to trade union activities.

Tuberculosis

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to find new treatments to tackle multi-drug-resistant TB; and if he will make a statement.

Jane Ellison: Over the past 12 years, gradual increases in the proportion of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) cases in the United Kingdom has amounted to a significant upward trend, from 0.7% (25/3529) in 2001, to 1.6% (81/5,151) in 2012. The proportion of MDR-TB cases remained stable at 1.6% (81 cases).
	The World Health Organization has stated that elimination of TB will depend on new diagnostics and more effective drugs and vaccines. Several international initiatives have generated a pipeline of potential new antimicrobials, and Bedaquiline is now available for MDR-TB.
	As part of the UK's 2013 strategy to address antimicrobial resistance we are seeking to identify a sustainable model to incentivise research and development into new antibiotics, diagnostics and novel therapies, which balances conservation and commercial incentives to build support with international partners to deliver this model in practice.
	The current vaccine, BCG, is generally safe, but has variable efficacy globally (0-80%). The introduction of new effective TB vaccines is an essential component of the global strategy to eliminate tuberculosis by 2050 (UN Millennium Goal 6C). There are a number of novel TB vaccine candidates under development which will need to be tested through a hierarchy of preclinical models of increasing complexity. Similar models are also being applied to the evaluation of new drugs.

Tuberculosis

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of multi-drug-resistant TB were recorded in each region in the last three years.

Jane Ellison: The incidence of tuberculosis (TB) in the United Kingdom is assessed through systematic analysis of notification data obtained from the Enhanced Tuberculosis Surveillance System run by Public Health England (PHE).
	In 2012, a total of 81 multi-drug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) cases were reported in the UK, 84 MDR-TB cases were reported in 2011, and 66 MDR-TB cases were reported in 2010. A breakdown of MDR-TB cases by PHE region and country for the period 2010-2012 is provided in the following table.
	
		
			 PHE region/country 2010 2011 2012 Total 
			 PHE region     
			 London 29 34 36 99 
			 Midlands and East of England 14 24 21 59 
			 North of England 15 15 12 42 
			 South of England 6 6 9 21 
		
	
	
		
			      
			 Country     
			 England 64 79 78 221 
			 Northern Ireland 1 2 0 3 
			 Wales 0 1 1 2 
			 Scotland 1 2 2 5 
			 United Kingdom 66 84 81 231 
			 Source: PHE Enhanced Tuberculosis Surveillance (ETS), Scottish Enhanced Surveillance of Mycobacterial Infections (ESMI).

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what measures are in place to monitor the effectiveness of the funding to improve electoral registration engagement; and when he plans to report to Parliament on the effectiveness of this initiative.

Greg Clark: Funding has been provided to all 363 local authorities and valuation joint boards in Great Britain and five national organisations to support the costs of activities to maximise registration.
	They have been provided with guidance to support them in evaluating the success of activity delivered through this funding. Cabinet Office officials will continue to work closely with funding recipients to monitor and measure the outcomes.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether his Department's funding of £3.6 million to improve electoral registration will be given to local authorities which have not used local government databases to improve electoral registration in the individual electoral registration dry run.

Greg Clark: All electoral registration officers (EROs) have received funding, based on their levels of under-registration, to support local activities to maximise registration, as part of the transition to individual electoral registration. EROs are best placed to decide how to improve the completeness and accuracy of their registers.
	Performance standard one of the Electoral Commission's framework encourages EROs to use local data sources to build understanding of local challenges and to identify potential new electors. The Electoral Commission monitors and reports on the performance of EROs against the performance standards. All EROs met performance standard one in 2012 and the commission will report on the 2013 performance shortly.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if his Department's funding to improve registration will be given to local authorities that are spending (a) more than and (b) less than the average on voter registration.

Greg Clark: All electoral registration officers (EROs) have received funding, based on their levels of under-registration, to help with the costs of local activities to maximise registration, as part of the transition to individual electoral registration.
	Funding allocations were based on the number of non-registered people, comparing the size of the register to the 16+ population. An element was based on the number of 16 to 18-year-olds to encourage activity in schools to register attainers.

Hereditary Peers

Frank Field: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will introduce legislative proposals to provide that the heirs of people who disclaim hereditary peerages cannot claim any hereditary right to membership of the House of Lords; and if he will publish details of how many people entitled to hereditary peerages have renounced their titles where their oldest eligible son has subsequently claimed the title on their death.

Nicholas Clegg: The Government's proposals introduced to the House of Commons on 10 July 2012 included plans to end hereditary peerages altogether. The Government have no further specific plans to legislate in this area. Currently anyone in this position has every right to disclaim the title should they so wish.
	Eighteen people have disclaimed their titles since the passage of the 1963 Peerage Act, the first being the late Tony Benn. Of those disclaimed peerages, seven have subsequently been claimed by the entitled heir.

Lobbying

Paul Flynn: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he has taken to restrict access to departmental meetings by lobbyists since 2011.

Greg Clark: Details of meetings held by Ministers and permanent secretaries with external organisations are published quarterly and can be found on Gov.UK. That transparency will be further extended by the recently enacted Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act, Part 1, which will require consultant lobbyists who meet with Ministers and senior officials to declare their clients on a publicly available register.

Returning Officers: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what representations he has received from (a) the Electoral Commission, (b) the Welsh Government and (c) Carmarthenshire County Council on the Chief Executive of Carmarthenshire County Council and his responsibilities as Returning Officer.

Greg Clark: I have not received any such representations.

Returning Officers: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the suitability of the chief executives of Carmarthenshire County Council and Pembrokeshire County Council acting as returning officers in future elections.

Greg Clark: It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to appoint an officer of the council to be the returning officer for local government elections in their area. Electoral law provides that returning officers for local government elections shall also be local returning officers for European Parliamentary elections. It therefore does not fall to the Government to assess the suitability of individuals carrying out these roles.

Returning Officers: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will meet the Electoral Commission to discuss the suitability of the chief executives of Carmarthenshire County Council and Pembrokeshire County Council for their roles as returning officers at the forthcoming European election.

Greg Clark: I have regular meetings with the Chair of the Electoral Commission.
	Cabinet Office officials have been working closely with the Electoral Commission, and have discussed a range of issues, to support the efficient and effective administration of the forthcoming European Parliamentary election.

Returning Officers: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will amend the guidance given to the Electoral Commission on whether prohibiting public officials who are suspended or under criminal investigation retain their responsibilities as returning officers.

Greg Clark: The Government do not provide guidance to the Electoral Commission on the status of returning officers.

Returning Officers: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he has had with the Electoral Commission on returning officer responsibilities in Carmarthenshire at the forthcoming European elections.

Greg Clark: I have regular meetings with the Chair of the Electoral Commission.
	Cabinet Office officials have been working closely with the Electoral Commission and have discussed a range of issues to support the efficient and effective running of the forthcoming European Parliamentary election.